Objective To investigate the methodological characteristics of observational studies on the correlation between drug exposure during pregnancy and birth defects. Methods The PubMed database was searched from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020 to identify observational studies investigating the correlation between drug use during pregnancy and birth defects. Literature screening and data extraction were conducted by two researchers and statistical analysis was performed using R 3.6.1 software. Results A total of 40 relevant articles were identified, of which 8 (20.0%) were published in the four major medical journals and their sub-journals, 21 (42.5%) were conducted in Europe and the United States, and 4 were conducted (10.0%) in China. Cohort studies (30, 75.0%) and case-control studies (10, 25%) were the most commonly used study designs. Sixteen studies (40.0%) did not specify how the databases were linked. Sixteen studies (40.0%) did not report a clear definition of exposure, while 17 studies (42.5%) defined exposure as prescribing a drug that could not be guaranteed to have been taken by the pregnant women, possibly resulting in misclassification bias. Six studies (15.0%) did not report the diagnostic criteria for birth defects and 18 studies (45.0%) did not report the types of birth defects. In addition, 33 studies (82.5%) did not control for confounding factors in the study design, while only 19 studies (47.5%) considered live birth bias. Conclusion Improvements are imperative in reporting and conducting observational studies on the correlation between drug use during pregnancy and birth defects. This includes the methods for linking data sources, definition of exposure and outcomes, and control of confounding factors. Methodological criteria are needed to improve the quality of these studies to provide higher quality evidence for policymakers and researchers.
ObjectiveTo discuss clinical characteristics and nursing countermeasure of pregnant/delivery women with tuberculosis. MethodsFrom January 2012 to December 2013, 52 cases of pregnant women complicated with tuberculosis were included. We offered specific nursing according to the psychological counseling, reasonable administration, diet nursing, fever and prevention of hospital infection on the base of their clinical features, and then analyzed the effect. ResultsIn 52 patients who had undergone the tuberculosis and obsterrics and gynecology treatment, 4 puerperal patients died of severe pneumonia and multiple organ failure; in 48 gestational patients with tuberculosis, 23 early-middle term patients accept termination of pregnancy, and in 25 middle-late term patients, 3 had full-term natural labor, 4 underwent full-term cesarean section, 5 had premature labor, and 13 continued the pregnacy. Sixteen neonatus (including 4 given at the other hospitals) had normal results of physical examination without any deformity, in whom 5 had low body weight (body weight less than 2500 g), with negative results of tuberculin test and the result of 3-moth follow-up was normal. Three months after the anti-tuberculosis treatment, the lesion was obviously absorbed in 25 patients and in 23 patients within half of a year. No patients had hospital infection. ConclusionNursing care of pregnant patients with tuberculosis should strengthen the guidance on the patients health education, improve their compliance and self-protection knowledge. Also should strengthen the basic level medical personnel training and improve the ability of early diagnosis of tuberculosis and early treatment to reduce maternal mortality.
ObjectiveTo construct and verify the nomogram prediction model of pregnant women's fear of childbirth. MethodsA convenient sampling method was used to select 675 pregnant women in tertiary hospital in Tangshan City, Hebei Province from July to September 2022 as the modeling group, and 290 pregnant women in secondary hospital in Tangshan City from October to December 2022 as the verification group. The risk factors were determined by logistic regression analysis, and the nomogram was drawn by R 4.1.2 software. ResultsSix predictors were entered into the model: prenatal education, education level, depression, pregnancy complications, anxiety and preference for delivery mode. The areas under the ROC curves of the modeling group and the verification group were 0.834 and 0.806, respectively. The optimal critical values were 0.113 and 0.200, respectively, with sensitivities of 67.2% and 77.1%, the specificities were 87.3% and 74.0%, and the Jordan indices were 0.545 and 0.511, respectively. The calibration charts of the modeling group and the verification group showed that the coincidence degree between the actual curve and the ideal curve was good. The results of Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness of fit test were χ2=6.541 (P=0.685) and χ2=5.797 (P=0.760), and Brier scores were 0.096 and 0.117, respectively. DCA in modeling group and verification group showed that when the threshold probability of fear of childbirth were 0.00 to 0.70 and 0.00 to 0.70, it had clinical practical value. ConclusionThe nomogram model has good discrimination, calibration and clinical applicability, which can effectively predict the risk of pregnant women's fear of childbirth and provide references for early clinical identification of high-risk pregnant women and targeted intervention.
Objective To investigate the incidence of full-term prelabor rupture of membranes (FPROM) and risk factors for FPROM. Methods A prospective nested case-control study was performed on pregnant women in early pregnancy and their spouses, who underwent prenatal examination for the first time in Zhuhai Center for Maternal and Child Health Care from May 2021 to December 2022. Pregnant women with a clear diagnosis of FPROM were included in the case group, and pregnant women without FPROM were randomly selected at a 1∶3 ratio for inclusion in the control group. A questionnaire survey was performed to collect exposure information possibly related to FPROM. The hospital's medical record system was used for information verification and to record the pregnancy outcomes. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the risk factors for FPROM. Results The incidence of FPROM in this study was 24.27%. The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that obesity pregnant women, smoking, drinking, unbalanced diet, high-intensity physical activity during pregnancy, eating areca nut before pregnancy, using glucocorticoids during pregnancy, older at the time of first pregnancy, a history of adverse pregnancy outcomes, a history of pregnancy complications, a history of diabetes, a history of scar uterus, no folate supplementation during pregnancy, repeated intrauterine operations, polyembryony, polyhydramnios, transverse fetus and fetal cephalopelvic disproportion as the way of conception were risk factors for FPROM (P<0.05). Additionally, the pregnant women whose spouses were obese or smoked or drinking had an increased risk of FPROM (P<0.05). Lower gravidity and lower parity were protective factors against FPROM (P<0.05). Conclusion There are many risk factors for FPROM. Special attention should be given to the life behaviors of pregnant women during pregnancy, and health education should be strengthened for pregnant women and their spouses to help them develop good living habits and reduce the incidence of FPROM.
Objective To assess and report on the current situation of the families of students, who were involved in the Wenchuan earthquake, to provide data for the government to make decisions that should help with recovery from the earthquake. Methods We selected 2 towns and 4 villages using stratified sampling to take account of different levels of destruction. We performed on-site surveys and secondary research. Results The psychological problems of the parents of the students were serious. These families’ economic situations were not good. Conclusion We should build ‘Mutual Aid’ organization and take the advantage of rural hospitals to promote the long-acting mechanism of the psychological intervention.
ObjectiveTo evaluate liver perfusion in pregnant women with hepatitis between 13 and 41 weeks of gestation by three-dimensional color power Doppler angiography (3D-CPA) vascular indexes. MethodsThis study involved 73 pregnant women with hepatitis and 44 healthy pregnant women who had the pregnancy examination between February 2012 and June 2013. We sampled in the area which was near the right lobe of the pregnant women liver's portal vein branch, and obtained the vascularization index (VI), flow index (FI) and vascularization flow index (VFI) via the virtual organ computer-aided analysis (VOCAL) method. Then, we compared the liver perfusion differences between the pregnant women with hepatitis and healthy pregnant women. ResultsThe hepatic flow indexes obtained by 3D-CPA were significantly different between the HBV-DNA viral load and the control groups. The cutoff values of the three vascular indexes of patients with hepatitis with HBV-DNA viral load and the healthy pregnant women were respectively VI=8.760 (P<3×10-4); FI=22.180 (P<6×10-7); and VFI=1.575 (P<3×10-5). ConclusionApplication of the 3D-CPA on liver perfusion may differentiate pregnant women with hepatitis B from normal ones, thus offer a support for clinical prevention and treatment for pregnant women with hepatitis B.
ObjectiveTo understand the distribution of demographic sociological characteristics and co-morbidities among primiparous and multiparous pregnant women under the China's universal two-child policy, to provide baseline data for clinical high-risk management and medical resources allocation.MethodsWe included pregnant women from 24 hospitals in 16 provinces (municipality, autonomous region) of China and collected their demographic sociological characteristics and obstetrics information by questionnaires between September 19th, and November 20th, 2016. Then, we used descriptive analysis to present the distribution of demographic sociological characteristics and pregnancy co-morbidities among primiparous and multiparous women and compared differences between groups by t test or Chi-square test.ResultsAmong 12 403 investigated pregnant women, 8 268 (66.7%) were primiparous and 4 135 (33.3%) were multiparous, with highest proportion in East (931/2 008, 46.4%) and lowest in Northeast (385/2 179, 17.7%). Multiparous women, comparing to primiparous women, were more likely to be elderly than 35 years (accounting for 30.6% vs. 6.5%), lower educated with high school or below (29.7% vs. 16.9%), occupied in physical labor or unemployed (49.2% vs. 42.5%), non-local residents (12.7% vs. 10.5%), family annual income higher than 120 thousand yuan (41.3% vs. 33.3%), pre-pregnancy body mass index≥24 kg/m2 (13.6% vs. 9.9%), history of artificial abortions (44.9% vs. 24.0%), or pregnancies≥4 times (23.8% vs. 3.1%) and were less likely to receive assisted reproductive technology (2.3% vs. 4.7%). The most common co-morbidities were gynecology disease (5.5%), thyroid disease (5.4% in all women), blood system disease (5.0%), digestive system disease (4.2%) and hepatitis B infection (2.5%). Multiparous women, comparing to primiparous women, had higher proportions with blood system disease (5.7% vs. 4.7%), hepatitis B infection (3.1% vs. 2.2%) and chronic hypertension (0.6% vs. 0.2%), but lower proportions with thyroid diseases, polycystic ovary syndrome, and immune system diseases, whose distribution also showed regional differences.ConclusionThere existed distribution differences regarding demographic sociological characteristics and co-morbidities proportions between primiparous and multiparous women. Therefore, we should improve clinical risk management and medical resources allocation based on pregnant women’s baseline and gestational characteristics.
Objective To compare the central foveal thickness (CFT) and subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) in healthy pregnant women and patients with pre-eclampsia. Methods A prospective control study. Twenty normal subjects, 20 healthy pregnant women and 20 patients with pre-eclampsia were included. The difference of gestational weeks between healthy pregnant women and patients with pre-eclampsia was not significant (χ2=0.012, P=0.913). The differences of age and spherical equivalent among normal subjects, healthy pregnant women and patients with pre-eclampsia were not significant (χ2=1.760, 0.087; P=0.413, 0.957). All eyes underwent optical coherence tomography examination to measure the CFT and SFCT. Results The mean CFT of normal subjects, healthy pregnant women and patients with pre-eclampsia were (194.40±16.17), (201.2±17.33), (199.00±15.46) μm, there was no significant difference among the three groups (χ2=0.888, P=0.641). The mean SFCT of normal subjects, healthy pregnant women and patients with pre-eclampsia were (263.45±69.66), (330.00±49.20), (373.40±52.00) μm, there was significant difference among the three groups (χ2=22.818, P=0.000). The mean SFCT of healthy pregnant women was increased than that of normal subjects (Z=−2.991, P=0.002). The mean SFCT of patients with pre-eclampsia was increased than that of healthy pregnant women (Z=−2.638, P=0.007). Conclusion The mean SFCT of patients with pre-eclampsia is increased than healthy pregnant women.
Objective To provide evidence for establ ishing a health care system for pregnant women after disasters by evidence-based evaluation on the comparison of programs in different countries of the world. Methods We electronically searched The Cochrane Library (Issue 2, 2008), MEDLINE (1966 to June 2008), EMbase (1984 to June 2008), VIP ( 1989 to June 2008), CBM ( 1978 to June 2008), Wangfang database (1997 to June 2008), CNKI (1994 to June 2008) and handsearched Journals such as Chinese Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology to identify l iteratures and guidel ines on pregnant women healthy care system after calamity. The qual ity of l iteratures and guidel ines was assessed. Results A total of 293 studies were searched, of which 25 studies were identified with the focuses on the consequence of pregnancy, development of fetus and first-aid of injuries of pregnant women. We found the studies on pregnant women’s health care were l imited, and most of them were retrospective and cohort studies, which was related to the paroxysmal ity, rarity and complexity of the disaster.? Conclusions The high proportion of pregnant women among displaced persons underscores the importance of examining how behavioral changes and difficulties in access to health care influencing the maternal and infant health, which needs comprehensive planning and arrangement.
ObjectivesTo systematically review the correlation between maternal serum selenium levels during pregnancy and premature birth.MethodsDatabases including PubMed, The Cochrane Library, EMbase, Web of Science, CNKI and CBM were searched to collect studies on correlation between maternal serum selenium levels during pregnancy with preterm birth in the offspring from inception to January, 2020. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and evaluated risk of bias of the included literature. Then, meta-analysis was conducted by using RevMan 5.3 software.ResultsA total of 12 studies involving 2 484 patients were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that compared with control group, the preterm group had lower serum selenium levels in pregnant females (SMD=−0.89, 95%CI −1.56 to −0.22, P=0.01). The results of the subgroup analysis showed that heterogeneity among subjects was still large when grouped accorcding to the continent to which a country belongs, the time of blood sample collection and test method in pregnant females.ConclusionsLow maternal serum selenium levels during pregnancy may increase the risk of preterm birth. Due to the limitation of the quantity and quality of the included studies, the above conclusions are required to be verified by more high quality studies.