Background: To investigate the association between late preterm antenatal corticosteroid treatment and outcome in late preterm neonates born to mothers with gestational diabetes mellitus, Methods: All patients with gestational diabetes mellitus who had a late preterm delivery at Etlik Lady Zübeyde Hospital between 2017 and 2021 were included. Women who met the inclusion criteria and were not given antenatal corticosteroid treatment during current pregnancy before 34 0/7 weeks of gestation were divided into two groups according to whether or not they received late preterm antenatal corticosteroid treatment. The two groups were compared in terms of adverse neonatal complications. The main outcomes were composite respiratory outcome and composite neonatal outcome. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine additional potential predictors of neonatal outcome. Results: This retrospective cohort study included a total of 400 participants with gestational diabetes mellitus who had a late preterm delivery within the study period. Of these women, 196 (49%) received late preterm antenatal corticosteroid treatment. Main outcomes showed no difference. Decreasing gestational age at birth was identified as an independent risk factor predicting both composite respiratory outcome and composite neonatal outcome in multivariate logistic regression analysis. Conclusions: Antenatal corticosteroid treatment at or after 34 0/7 weeks of gestation in women with gestational diabetes mellitus who had a late preterm delivery was not associated with improvement in adverse neonatal outcomes. Decreasing gestational age at birth was the only independent risk factor predicting composite neonatal and composite respiratory outcomes.

Twins are associated with an increased risk of premature birth, a major cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Antenatal corticosteroid treatment (ACT) is the main intervention to improve neonatal outcomes in unavoidable preterm births. Our aim was to investigate the association between neonatal outcome and ACT in twin pregnancies with late preterm birth, where the effects of corticosteroids have not been adequately studied. Women with dichorionic-diamniotic twins who had a late preterm birth between 2017 and 2021 at a large referral hospital providing tertiary care and medical training were retrospectively analyzed. Women who met the inclusion criteria were divided into three groups: No ACT (n = 209), ACT < 34 weeks’ gestation (n = 76) and ACT ≥ 34 weeks’ gestation (n = 67). The groups were compared with regard to adverse neonatal complications. Primary outcome measures were composite respiratory and composite neonatal outcomes. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine additional potential predictors of neonatal outcome. Composite respiratory and composite neonatal outcomes did not differ significantly between groups. Birth gestational age, birthweight and ACT before 34 weeks’ gestation were independently associated with favorable composite respiratory outcome, composite neonatal outcome and a lower neonatal intensive care unit admission rate. Female sex was independently associated with favorable composite respiratory outcome and a lower neonatal intensive care unit admission rate, while birth gestational age and birthweight were independently associated with a lower rate of hypoglycemia. ACT at or after 34 weeks’ gestation was not associated with better neonatal outcomes in dichorionic-diamniotic twins born late preterm and was associated with a higher rate of neonatal hypoglycemia than those not treated with corticosteroids.

To determine the role of sortilin in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia by examining serum sortilin levels in maternal blood. This prospective case-control study was conducted from May to November 2023 at the Perinatology Clinic of Ankara Etlik City Hospital. The study cohort was divided into two groups: Group 1 consisted of 44 pregnant women diagnosed with preeclampsia, and Group 2 served as the control group, comprising 44 healthy pregnant women. The groups were matched individually, with controls selected based on similar maternal age and gestational age at the time of sample collection. Maternal sortilin levels were significantly elevated in preeclampsia patients compared to controls. Using a cut-off value of > 3.57 ng/mL, sortilin levels could distinguish preeclampsia cases with a sensitivity of 90.9%, a specificity of 45.5%, and an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.679 (p = 0.002). At a cut-off of > 3.57 ng/mL, it was significantly associated with composite adverse neonatal outcomes, with a sensitivity of 89.6%, a specificity of 36.1%, and an AUC of 0.620 (p = 0.045). In addition, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and protein in 24-hour urine, which are important components in the diagnosis and severity of preeclampsia, were significantly correlated maternal blood sortilin levels. Our findings indicate that maternal sortilin levels are elevated in patients with preeclampsia compared to those in a healthy pregnant control group. Furthermore, maternal sortilin levels may predict adverse neonatal outcomes. In addition, sortilin levels are correlated key clinical markers of preeclampsia severity.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of antenatal corticosteroid therapy (ACT) on neonatal respiratory outcomes in late preterm births, focusing on the interaction between gestational age, mode of delivery, and ACT administration. Methods: A retrospective case-control study was conducted on 452 singleton late preterm pregnancies (34 + 0 to 36 + 6 weeks) between 2014 and 2021. Among these, 197 patients received ACT, while 255 did not. Maternal and neonatal characteristics were collected, and logistic regression analyses were performed to identify predictors of neonatal respiratory complications. Results: ACT was associated with a 42% reduction in the odds of neonatal pulmonary complications (adjusted OR: 0.586; 95% CI: 0.347–0.988; p = 0.045). Gestational age was a significant protective factor, with each additional week reducing the risk of adverse pulmonary outcomes by 60% (adjusted OR: 0.397; 95% CI: 0.281–0.561; p < 0.001). Cesarean delivery was associated with a nearly fourfold increase in pulmonary complications compared to vaginal delivery (adjusted OR: 3.775; 95% CI: 1.859–7.666; p < 0.001). ACT showed the most significant protective effect in earlier gestational weeks and among cesarean deliveries. Conclusion: ACT was associated with reduced neonatal pulmonary complications in late preterm pregnancies, particularly among subgroups with earlier gestational age or cesarean delivery, as supported by multivariate and interaction analyses. These findings underscore the importance of individualized antenatal and perinatal management strategies to optimize neonatal outcomes.

Objectives: As previous studies on the use of a cervical pessary to prevent preterm birth (PTB) have produced conflicting results, we aimed to investigate the feasibility, acceptability and safety of a new technique for inserting a cervical pessary and compare it with the traditional technique in patients at high risk of PTB. Methods: Women at high risk of PTB treated with a cervical pessary between January 2018 and January 2021 were retrospectively evaluated. After applying exclusion criteria, a total of 68 eligible patients were identified and retrospectively analyzed. The primary outcome was spontaneous PTB before 34 weeks’ gestation (WG). Results: Of 68 participants, 39 were treated with the traditional method (group 1) and 29 with the new insertion technique (group 2). The rate of spontaneous PTB before 34 WG was significantly lower in group 2 (p=0.020). Birthweight, APGAR scores and satisfaction with the method were significantly higher, while PTB before 37 WG was significantly lower in group 2 (p=0.043, 0.010, 0.009, 0.042 and 0.014, respectively). There were no significant differences in the rates of perinatal death (12.8 vs. 3.4 % in groups 1 and 2, respectively; p=0.229). The concomitant use of vaginal progesterone was required more frequently in group 1. According to the binary regression analysis, the new insertion technique resulted in a 5.42 and 3.97-fold protection against PTB before 34 and 37 WG. Conclusions: Our preliminary results show that our new technique of pessary insertion is more effective than the traditional method in preventing PTB due to cervical shortening.