ABSTRACT Noninvasive prenatal testing has been a reliable method for prenatal screening for the common autosomal trisomies for the last decade. It has been analyzed in many prospective studies for accuracy in screening for the most common trisomies—13, 18, and 21—and the technology has continued to progress. With high accuracy for common trisomies, advances are attempting to expand noninvasive prenatal testing for identifying rare autosomal trisomies, such as trisomies 7, 15, 16, and 22; sex chromosome aneuploidies; and segmental copy number variants. Although cell-free DNA (cfDNA) technology is now available to screen for these abnormalities, accuracy and detection rates have not been well studied. This systematic review analyzes and reports the diagnostic accuracy of cfDNA screening for the rare autosomal trisomies. This review included case series with 10 or more cases that reported on the accuracy of cfDNA in reporting rare autosomal trisomies that were confirmed by diagnostic results or postnatal genetic testing; the final review included 31 studies. Methodological analysis found the risk of bias to be high in most studies, with only 5 rated as high quality and low risk in all domains. All studies included in the final analyses were published between 2017 and 2022, and study populations ranged from 14 to 153,575 patients. Indications for screening and characteristics of the patients varied from study to study, with 12 studies in high-risk women, 10 studies in the general obstetric population, and 9 studies without inclusion of underlying risk factors and indications. Whole-genome sequencing was used in all studies as testing methodology. Testing timing varied and was performed anywhere from gestational week 8 to week 39. In the 3 studies that analyzed sensitivity and specificity of cfDNA testing, sensitivity ranged from 87.2% to 100%, and specificity ranged from 90.7% to 99.9%. In all 3 of these studies, there were significant limitations that led authors to acknowledge the difficulty of drawing clear conclusions about sensitivity and specificity from their data. Meta-analysis performed for positive predictive value (PPV) provided a pooled estimate of 11.46% (95% confidence interval [CI], 7.80%–15.65%). Sensitivity analysis including only studies at low risk of bias gave a PPV of 9.13% (95% CI, 2.49%–18.76%). Analysis was performed again with groups divided into high or low background risk, with a slightly higher PPV in the higher background risk group, but no significant difference between these groups ( P = 0.595). Statistical heterogeneity was not explained by year of publication or baseline risk of participants but could be largely explained by rate of diagnostic follow-up. Studies with a follow-up rate of less than 50% showed a PPV of 23.69% (95% CI, 9.21%–41.94%), whereas studies with a follow-up rate greater than 50% reported a PPV of 8.80% (95% CI, 6.08%–11.90%). Based on the results of this systematic review and meta-analysis, it is likely that previously reported PPVs of cfDNA's diagnostic accuracy for detecting rare autosomal trisomies are overestimated. A reason for this could be lower follow-up rates as well as testing bias in women with high-risk cfDNA results. One reason for the low prevalence of rare autosomal trisomies is that many confirmed cases result in miscarriage before 12 weeks of gestation. Pregnancies that continue and that are not mosaic often experience major complications. The occurrence of mosaicism may impact the PPV, as mosaicism carries some risks but is sometimes not detected from cfDNA samples. This study was limited by the details included in the studies analyzed; this caused significant statistical heterogeneity, which limits the conclusions that can be drawn. In addition, detection rates may differ by type of cfDNA test, and this analysis did not stratify by type of test. The results of this analysis are consistent with previous literature on detection of rare autosomal trisomies in the general population and show that even with a high specificity and sensitivity for cfDNA testing in general, care should be taken in making clinical decisions on the part of both providers and patients in instances where a rare autosomal trisomy is suspected.

Background: The accuracy of third-trimester ultrasound in detecting large for gestational age and macrosomic fetuses in diabetic and non-diabetic pregnant women is unclear in the literature. The aim of the study is to examine the precision of the 4-parameter Hadlock formula for the prediction of large fetuses in these two populations. Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed, and only studies evaluating the accuracy of third-trimester ultrasound using the 4-parameter Hadlock formula were included. Data were extracted, and the meta-analysis was performed using STATA software and Meta-disk 2.0 aiming to obtain the pooled sensitivity and specificity. Quality assessment of the risk of bias was performed using the QUADS-2 tool. Results: Nine articles were included in the final analysis together with 24,693,702 pregnancies screened and 2336 real large fetuses. The included articles were judged to be at high risk of bias in more than half of the cases and at doubtful risk in the remaining cases. Comparison between diabetic and non-diabetic populations was impossible because the studies considered mixed pregnancies (diabetic and non-diabetic) or only healthy, so the comparison was made between the latter two groups. The pooled sensitivity was 0.54 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.40–0.68), and the pooled specificity was 0.94 (95% CI: 0.90–0.97). The heterogeneity estimated by the Bivariate I2 was 0.92, and the area under the summary Receiver Operating Characteristics curve was 0.19. The subgroup analysis revealed a higher level of heterogeneity for the mixed group (I2 = 0.92) and a lower one for the healthy group (I2 = 0.67). The relative sensitivity between the mixed population and the healthy one was 0.85 (95% CI: 0.49–1.45; p = 0.57), and the relative specificity between the mixed population and the healthy one was 0.98 (95% CI: 0.91–1.04; p = 0.54), the difference between healthy and mixed groups was not significant (p = 0.11). Conclusions: Despite the high heterogeneity of the data, the overall accuracy of ultrasound is similar in mixed and healthy populations and is overall moderate in predicting large fetuses.

ObjectivesTo evaluate the clinical significance of nuchal translucency (NT) between the 95th-99th percentile in terms of typical and atypical chromosomal abnormalities (ACAs), associated fetal congenital defects and postnatal outcome. MethodsA retrospective cohort study of fetuses with NT between the 95th-99th percentile. Data regarding the rate of associated fetal defects, genetic abnormalities and postnatal outcome were collected. ResultsA total of 306 cases of fetuses with an NT between the 95th-99th percentiles were included. The overall rate of genetic abnormalities was 12.1% (37/306). Chromosomal abnormalities were found in 10.1% (31/306) of cases and 2% were ACA (6/306). Within this group, two were pathogenic Copy Number Variants (CNVs) and four were single gene disorders. The overall rate of fetal congenital defects was 13.7% (42/306). All ACAs were found in fetuses with congenital defects. Postnatally, a new diagnosis of a single gene disorder was made in 0.85% of cases (2/236). ConclusionsThe presence of an NT between the 95th-99th percentiles carries a 10-fold increased risk of fetal defects, representing an indication for referral for a detailed fetal anatomy evaluation. The risk of ACA is mainly related to the presence of fetal defects, irrespective of the combined test risk.

The performance of cell‐free DNA (cfDNA) screening for microscopic copy number variants (CNVs) is unclear.

Also available from AJOG MFM, the newest member of the AJOG family of journals -Conservative management for placenta accreta spectrum: questions

OBJECTIVE:Although cell-free DNA screening for sex chromosome abnormalities is increasingly used in clinical practice, its diagnostic accuracy and clinical utility remain unclear. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine the performance of cell-free DNA in the detection of sex chromosome abnormalities.DATA SOURCES:Medline and PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science were searched from inception to January 2022 for articles relating to cell-free DNA screening for sex chromosome abnormalities.STUDY ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:Original articles, randomized control trials, conference abstracts, cohort and case-control studies, and case series with more than 10 cases with diagnostic confirmation were considered for inclusion.METHODS:Quality assessment of each included publication was performed using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies 2 tool. The positive predictive value was calculated as the proportion of true positive cases among those who tested positive and underwent diagnostic testing. Sensitivity and specificity were pooled, and a summary receiver operating characteristic curve was produced using bivariate models that included studies that had diagnostic confirmation for high- and low-risk women.RESULTS:The search identified 7553 results. Of these, 380 proceeded to the full-text screening, of which 94 articles were included in the meta-analysis with a total of 1,531,240 women tested. All studies reported a confirmatory genetic test. The pooled positive predictive value was 49.4% (95% confidence interval, 45.8-53.1). The pooled positive predictive value was 32.0% (95% confidence interval, 27.0%-37.3%) for monosomy X, 67.6% (95% confidence interval, 62.5%-72.5%) for XXY, 57.5% (95% confidence interval, 51.7%-63.1%) for XXX, and 70.9% (95% confidence interval, 63.9%-77.1%) for XYY. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of cell-free DNA for sex chromosome abnormalities were 94.1% (95% confidence interval, 90.8%-96.3%) and 99.5% (95% confidence interval, 99.0%-99.7%), respectively, with an area under the summary receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.934 (95% confidence interval, 0.907-0.989).CONCLUSION:Although the sensitivity and specificity of cell-free DNA for sex chromosome abnormalities are high, the positive predictive value was approximately 50%. The positive predictive value was higher for sex chromosome abnormalities with a supernumerary Y chromosome and lower for monosomy X. Clinicians should inform couples about these findings when offering cell-free DNA for sex chromosome abnormalities.

Population Medicine considers the following types of articles:• Research Papers -reports of data from original research or secondary dataset analyses.• Review Papers -comprehensive, authoritative, reviews within the journal's scope.These include both systematic reviews and narrative reviews.• Short Reports -brief reports of data from original research.• Policy Case Studies -brief articles on policy development at a regional or national level.• Study Protocols -articles describing a research protocol of a study.• Methodology Papers -papers that present different methodological approaches that can be used to investigate problems in a relevant scientific field and to encourage innovation.• Methodology Papers -papers that present different methodological approaches that can be used to investigate problems in a relevant scientific field and to encourage innovation.

BACKGROUND:Several attempts have been made to introduce mHealth solutions to support maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH). However, most of the available apps do not meet the needs of end-users, underscoring the urgency of involving them in the co-design of telehealth interventions.OBJECTIVE:With this in mind, we investigated the needs and expectations of hospital-based health professionals (i.e., secondary users) providing care to pregnant women and new mothers with their babies for a hypothetical mHealth app to support the first 1000 days of life.METHODS:From November 2021 to March 2022, we surveyed health professionals using a questionnaire that explored the perceived importance of specific content, functionalities, and technical features of the proposed app. We also collected sociodemographic information from secondary users. We performed descriptive analysis and then used Ward hierarchical clustering method to classify respondents according to their response patterns.RESULTS:We recorded the needs and expectations of 145 hospital-based health professionals from obstetrics/gynecology, nursery/neonatology, and pediatrics. We found general agreement with the proposed content of the app, particularly general information about health during pregnancy (92%) and potential risky infections during pregnancy (91%). Three clusters emerged from the analysis, with the high and medium demanding clusters rating the importance of app content and technical features as very high and high, respectively, while low demanding cluster expressing more skepticism, especially about some of the proposed functionalities of the app.CONCLUSIONS:Assessing the needs and expectations of end-users is an essential process for developing tailored and effective mHealth solutions. This study has shown that hospital-based health professionals generally recognize the value of the proposed app, suggesting their propensity to integrate such a telehealth solution into mainstream clinical practice.

To improve maternal and child health, it is essential to adhere to health-promoting and preventive measures. However, reliable information as well as effective tools are not easy to identify in this field. Our cross-sectional study investigated the needs and expectations of expectant and new mothers and fathers as potential primary users of a hypothetical application supporting the first 1000 days of life. Between May and August 2022, we recruited expectant and new parents by administering an 83-item 5-point Likert scale questionnaire related to the content, functionalities, and technical features of the hypothetical app. We stratified responses using sociodemographic characteristics and then performed ward hierarchical clustering. The 94 women and 69 men involved in our study generally agreed with the proposed content, but expressed low interest in certain app functionalities or features, including those related to the interaction mechanism and interactivity. Women were generally more demanding than men. Our findings, resulting from the engagement of end-users, may be useful for designers and technology providers to implement mHealth solutions that, in addition to conveying reliable information, are tailored to the needs and preferences of end-users in the first 1000 days of life.

An acquired uterine artery myometrial pseudoaneurysm can occur due to inflammation, trauma, or iatrogenic causes, such as surgical procedures, and can lead to profuse bleeding. The efficacy of uterine manipulators in gynecological surgery, particularly as a cause of a pseudoaneurysm, has been poorly discussed in the literature. In this paper, we discuss a case of a 39-year-old woman with profuse uterine bleeding that occurred seven days after operative laparoscopic surgery for endometriosis. The color Doppler ultrasound better evoked the arterial-like turbulent blood flow inside this cavity. These sonographic features were highly suggestive of uterine artery pseudoaneurysm, presumably related to a secondary trauma caused by the manipulator. The diagnosis was subsequently re-confirmed by angiography, and the patient was treated conservatively with uterine artery embolization. Ultrasound has been shown to be a valuable and safe tool for imaging pseudoaneurysm and guiding subsequent interventional procedures. Accordingly, we briefly review the most suitable manipulators used in benign gynecological surgeries to verify if the different types in use can guide the surgeon towards the correct choice according to surgical needs and thus prevent potentially dangerous trauma.

Background Recent developments in eHealth and mobile health (mHealth), as well as the introduction of information and communication technology innovations in clinical practice, such as telemedicine, telemonitoring, and remote examinations, are already changing the current scenario and will continue to generate innovations in the coming decades. The widespread use of mobile devices, with an estimated nearly 30 billion devices and more than 325,000 apps worldwide, will provide various opportunities for people to take control of their own health. Already in 2017, most of the apps available were focused on pregnancy support, more than any other medical field. There have been some reported experiences with social media and mHealth that could benefit the promotion of maternal physical and mental health during pregnancy. However, many apps targeting the first 1000 days of a child’s life do not consider the continuity between the prenatal and postnatal periods and their joint impact on maternal and child health. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of this mHealth app to support women during the first 1000 days (from conception to 24 months of age) and to improve health prevention behaviours such as immunizations during pregnancy, weight gain during pregnancy, abstinence from smoking and alcohol consumption, and adherence to the routine childhood immunization schedule. In addition, the study aims to understand the level of appreciation of this mHealth app as a tool to overcome information and communication gaps between patients and institutions. Methods Conduction of a randomized controlled trial. Discussion Our results will be relevant for improving this mHealth app to promote health and prevention and to support the first 1000 days of life for both mother and child. Our results will be relevant to the future expansion of such an mHealth app to promote positive health-related outcomes in patients and co-user satisfaction and to support the organization of health services. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05500339.

AIM:The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of adequacy, accuracy, and safety of ultrasound-guided tru-cut biopsy in managing malignant and benign abdominopelvic masses in a selected population and critically discuss some issues in different situations, which deserve some reflections on those practices.MATERIALS AND METHODS:This is a retrospective study involving 42 patients who underwent transvaginal or transabdominal tru-cut biopsy between August 2017 and November 2021. The inclusion criteria were poor health status or primary inoperable advanced tumor, suspicion of recurrence or metastasis to the ovaries or peritoneum in gynecological and non-gynecological pelvic malignancies. Tissue samples were considered adequate if it was possible to determine the origin of the tumor, and immunohistochemistry could be performed. Diagnostic accuracy was assessed considering the agreement between tru-cut biopsy histology and final postoperative histology.RESULTS:It total, 44 biopsies were obtained from 42 patients (2 patients had repeat biopsies). The pathologist considered all pathological samples adequate (adequacy 100%). The final histology was consistent with tru-cut biopsy diagnosis in all but 2 cases (diagnostic accuracy 88.2%). If we consider only the cases that have carried out at least two diagnostic samples, accuracy rose to 94.1%. Pathological examinations from tru-cut samples showed 2 benign lesions (4.8%) and 40 malignant tumors (95.2%), divided into 19 advanced primary inoperable ovarian cancers, 7 primary advanced cervical cancers, 4 recurrent endometrial cancers, 3 recurrent cervical cancers, 3 recurrent ovarian cancers, 1 case of primitive peritoneal malignancy (leiomyosarcoma), and 3 non-gynecological cancers with a strong suspicion of metastases at ultrasound (2 cases of ovarian, colorectal cancer metastasis, and 1 case of pelvic site type B lymphoma metastasis). However, one case of minor complication related to the procedure was reported but not significant.CONCLUSIONS:The diagnostic adequacy, accuracy of the tru-cut biopsy, and safety were high. Pathological samples are representative of the disease and suitable for histological and immunohistochemical analysis.

Placental insufficiency affects about 10% of pregnancies and can lead to pre-eclampsia, fetal growth restriction, and preterm birth. Despite significant advances in early prediction and prevention of preterm pre-eclampsia with aspirin, the effects of prophylaxis on fetal growth restriction are less certain, and the rates of late-onset pre-eclampsia are not influenced by aspirin treatment. Pregnancies complicated by placental insufficiency are characterized by increased oxidative stress, and recent studies suggest that melatonin has antioxidant properties and contributes to maintaining placental homeostasis. We aimed to systematically review the available literature about melatonin in pregnancies complicated by placental insufficiency, specifically preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction, exploring three different aspects: 1) maternal melatonin levels; 2) expression and activity of melatonin placental receptors; 3) effects of maternal melatonin administration. PubMed (Medline) and Scopus were searched until December 2020. Identified studies were screened and assessed independently by two authors. Data were extracted and compiled in qualitative evidence synthesis. The circadian pattern of melatonin secretion seems to be altered in pregnancies complicated by placental insufficiency reflected by lower production of melatonin, with consequent lower systemic and placental concentrations and lower expression of melatonin receptors, thus reducing the local release of the indole and its autocrine function. Small intervention studies also suggest that treatment is safe and may lead to prolongation of pregnancy and better outcomes, but double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trials are lacking.

ObjectiveThis study aims to assess accuracy and clinical utility of postmortem radiological exams [Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Computed Tomography (CT) and Radiography (XR)] after termination of pregnancy at <23 weeks’ gestation for congenital fetal malformations in comparison to autopsy.Study designThis a prospective single-center study on fetuses underwent termination of pregnancy for fetal defects. Overall concordance between any radiological exam and autopsy was evaluated. For postmortem MRI only, the following subgroups were analyzed: 1) total agreement; 2) agreement for main findings; 3) agreement for main findings but major relevant additional findings at autopsy; 4) total disagreement.Results174 cases were collected. The overall concordance with autopsy for main findings was 71% (115/163) for postmortem MRI and 99% (173/174) for prenatal ultrasound (US). Postmortem MRI detection rate was high for central nervous system (CNS) defects (98%), gastrointestinal, genitourinary and respiratory defects (100%), while it was poor for cardiovascular and musculoskeletal defects (25% and 42%, respectively). For musculoskeletal abnormalities, the performance of postmortem XR and postmortem CT exams improved the detection rate from 42% for postmortem MRI alone to 92%.ConclusionsPostmortem MRI has a good overall concordance for fetal defects after termination of pregnancy performed at <23 weeks. Along with autopsy, postmortem MRI may be offered for all cases of CNS defects in order to prevent inconclusive exams due to autolysis of the brain tissue, while postmortem CT and postmortem XR are indicated for musculoskeletal defects. In the presence of multiple abnormalities or cardiac defects the couple should be counseled on the poor performance of radiological investigations.

Cotyledonoid leiomyoma is an unusual uterine myoma due to some ultrasound features that mimic a malignant lesion facilitating the choice of radical surgery. This study aims to summarize the ultrasound and the magnetic resonance imaging aspects of this atypical lesion, and also discuss surgical treatment and pathological exam. It included all English case reports or case series until August 2021 found through PubMed, Google Scholar, and Scopus. A total of 94 cotyledonoid leiomyomas were reported, with a median tumor size of 12 cm. The typical ultrasound image is characterized by a large solid heterogeneous mass, with high vascularity, no shadowing, and indistinct margins within the myometrium. Magnetic resonance imaging shows the presence of merging isointense nodules to the myometrium in T1-weighted images, hyperintense in T2-weighted images, and contrast agent enhancement. Surgical treatment consists of hysterectomy (75 cases, 80%) or myomectomy (19 cases, 20%), without evidence of recurrence if complete. The placenta-like appearance observed during surgery supports this rare fibroid hypothesis. The intraoperative frozen section can be considered. Microscopically, no atypical cells, signs of mitotic activity or cell necrosis are found. To conclude, some preoperative and intraoperative aspects of this lesion are distinctive and may lead surgeons to opt for conservative surgery.

Cotyledonoid leiomyoma of the uterus is a rare variant of benign uterine leiomyoma. It has a favorable attitude, despite some ultrasound presentations. A bulky uterus with a heterogeneous mass with irregular margins, high vascularity, and infiltration of the myometrium can induce the suspicion of a malignant mesenchymal tumor and lead to a radical surgical treatment. If present, some imaging features may suggest this rare type of leiomyoma, thus avoiding extensive surgery, especially in young nulliparous women. We report 13 cases of cotyledonoid leiomyoma with clinical characteristics, imaging features, and a literature review.