As early life interventions for congenital heart disease improve, more patients are living to adulthood and are considering pregnancy. Scoring and classification systems predict the maternal ...cardiovascular risk of pregnancy in the context of congenital heart disease, but these scoring systems do not assess the potential subsequent risks following pregnancy. Data on the long-term cardiac outcomes after pregnancy are unknown for most lesion types. This limits the ability of healthcare practitioners to thoroughly counsel patients who are considering pregnancy in the setting of congenital heart disease.
We aimed to evaluate the association between pregnancy and the subsequent long-term cardiovascular health of individuals with congenital heart disease.
This was a retrospective longitudinal cohort study of individuals identifying as female who were receiving care in two adult congenital heart disease centers from 2014 to 2019. Patient data were abstracted longitudinally from a patient age of 15 years (or from the time of entry into the healthcare system) to the conclusion of the study, death, or exit from the healthcare system. The primary endpoint, a composite adverse cardiac outcome (death, stroke, heart failure, unanticipated cardiac surgery, or a requirement for a catheterized procedure), was compared between parous (at least one pregnancy >20 weeks’ gestation) and nulliparous individuals. By accounting for differences in the follow-up, the effect of pregnancy was estimated based on the time to the composite adverse outcome in a proportional hazards regression model adjusted for the World Health Organization class, baseline cardiac medications, and number of previous sternotomies. Participants were also categorized according to their lesion type, including septal defects (ventricular septal defects, atrial septal defects, atrioventricular septal defects, or atrioventricular canal defects), right-sided valvular lesions, left-sided valvular lesions, complex cardiac anomalies, and aortopathies, to evaluate if there is a differential effect of pregnancy on the primary outcome when adjusting for lesion type in a sensitivity analysis.
Overall, 711 individuals were eligible for inclusion; 209 were parous and 502 nulliparous. People were classified according to the World Health Organization classification system with 86 (12.3%) being classified as class I, 76 (10.9%) being classified as class II, 272 (38.9%) being classified as class II to III, 155 (22.1%) being classified as class III, and 26 (3.7%) being classified as class IV. Aortic stenosis, bicuspid aortic valve, dilated ascending aorta or aortic root, aortic regurgitation, and pulmonary insufficiency were more common in parous individuals, whereas dextro-transposition of the great arteries, Turner syndrome, hypoplastic right heart, left superior vena cava, and other cardiac diagnoses were more common in nulliparous individuals. In multivariable modeling, pregnancy was associated with the composite adverse cardiac outcome (36.4%% vs 26.1%%; hazard ratio, 1.83; 95% confidence interval, 1.25–2.66). Parous individuals were more likely to have unanticipated cardiac surgery (28.2% vs 18.1%; P=.003). No other individual components of the primary outcome were statistically different between parous and nulliparous individuals in cross-sectional comparisons. The association between pregnancy and the primary outcome was similar in a sensitivity analysis that adjusted for cardiac lesion type (hazard ratio, 1.61; 95% confidence interval, 1.10–2.36).
Among individuals with congenital heart disease, pregnancy was associated with an increase in subsequent long-term adverse cardiac outcomes. These data may inform counseling of individuals with congenital heart disease who are considering pregnancy.
To evaluate whether an existing vaginal birth after cesarean delivery (VBAC) prediction model validated for women with one prior cesarean delivery also accurately predicts the likelihood of VBAC in ...women with two prior cesarean deliveries.
We performed a secondary analysis of all women attempting trial of labor after cesarean delivery (TOLAC) with a term singleton pregnancy and two prior cesarean deliveries in the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network (MFMU) Cesarean Registry. Probability of VBAC was calculated for each participant using the MFMU VBAC prediction model. Women were considered to have a recurring indication for cesarean delivery if the indication for either their first or second cesarean delivery was arrest of dilation or descent. A receiver operating characteristic curve was used to assess the classification ability of the model and the predicted likelihood of VBAC success was compared with the actual likelihood using a calibration curve.
Among 369 women with two prior cesarean deliveries undergoing TOLAC, the actual VBAC rate was 66% (95% confidence interval CI 61-71). The mean predicted probability of VBAC was higher among women with a successful TOLAC than those with a failed TOLAC (75% compared with 59%, P<.001). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for women with two prior cesarean deliveries was 0.74 (95% CI 0.69-0.80). Within deciles of predicted probability greater than 30%, predicted probabilities were similar to and contained actual probabilities within the 95% CI.
The estimates of VBAC success based on the MFMU prediction model are similar to the actual rates observed among women with two prior cesarean deliveries.
Our objective was to evaluate whether cannabis use was associated with nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy. Participants from nuMoM2b (Nulliparous Pregnancy Outcomes Study: Monitoring ...Mothers-to-Be) enrolled from October 2010 through September 2013 with a PUQE (Pregnancy-Unique Quantification of Emesis) questionnaire and an available stored urine sample from the first study visit (median gestational age 12 weeks) were included. Cannabis exposure was ascertained by urine immunoassay for 11-nor-9-carboxy-delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC-COOH); positive results were confirmed with liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. The primary outcome was moderate-to-severe nausea by the PUQE score. Overall, 9,250 participants were included, and 5.8% (95% CI 5.4-6.3%) had detectable urine THC-COOH. In adjusted analyses, higher THC-COOH levels were associated with greater odds of moderate-to-severe nausea (20.7% in the group with THC-COOH detected vs 15.5% in the group with THC-COOH not detected, adjusted odds ratio 1.6, 95% CI 1.1-2.2 for a 500 ng/mg Cr THC-COOH increment).
This sequential, prospective meta-analysis sought to identify risk factors among pregnant and postpartum women with COVID-19 for adverse outcomes related to disease severity, maternal morbidities, ...neonatal mortality and morbidity, and adverse birth outcomes.
We prospectively invited study investigators to join the sequential, prospective meta-analysis via professional research networks beginning in March 2020.
Eligible studies included those recruiting at least 25 consecutive cases of COVID-19 in pregnancy within a defined catchment area.
We included individual patient data from 21 participating studies. Data quality was assessed, and harmonized variables for risk factors and outcomes were constructed. Duplicate cases were removed. Pooled estimates for the absolute and relative risk of adverse outcomes comparing those with and without each risk factor were generated using a 2-stage meta-analysis.
We collected data from 33 countries and territories, including 21,977 cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy or postpartum. We found that women with comorbidities (preexisting diabetes mellitus, hypertension, cardiovascular disease) vs those without were at higher risk for COVID-19 severity and adverse pregnancy outcomes (fetal death, preterm birth, low birthweight). Participants with COVID-19 and HIV were 1.74 times (95% confidence interval, 1.12–2.71) more likely to be admitted to the intensive care unit. Pregnant women who were underweight before pregnancy were at higher risk of intensive care unit admission (relative risk, 5.53; 95% confidence interval, 2.27–13.44), ventilation (relative risk, 9.36; 95% confidence interval, 3.87–22.63), and pregnancy-related death (relative risk, 14.10; 95% confidence interval, 2.83–70.36). Prepregnancy obesity was also a risk factor for severe COVID-19 outcomes including intensive care unit admission (relative risk, 1.81; 95% confidence interval, 1.26–2.60), ventilation (relative risk, 2.05; 95% confidence interval, 1.20–3.51), any critical care (relative risk, 1.89; 95% confidence interval, 1.28–2.77), and pneumonia (relative risk, 1.66; 95% confidence interval, 1.18–2.33). Anemic pregnant women with COVID-19 also had increased risk of intensive care unit admission (relative risk, 1.63; 95% confidence interval, 1.25–2.11) and death (relative risk, 2.36; 95% confidence interval, 1.15–4.81).
We found that pregnant women with comorbidities including diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease were at increased risk for severe COVID-19–related outcomes, maternal morbidities, and adverse birth outcomes. We also identified several less commonly known risk factors, including HIV infection, prepregnancy underweight, and anemia. Although pregnant women are already considered a high-risk population, special priority for prevention and treatment should be given to pregnant women with these additional risk factors.
Objective We aimed to determine if obese women undergoing trial of labor after cesarean (TOLAC) were more likely to undergo repeat cesarean for arrest disorders prior to active labor, and whether ...this was due to decreased use of standard interventions to achieve vaginal birth. Study Design This was a secondary analysis of a prospective registry. Women undergoing TOLAC with one prior cesarean and a singleton, term gestation who had a repeat cesarean for an arrest disorder were included. The primary outcome was repeat cesarean prior to active labor (cervical dilation < 6 cm). Obese (body mass index ≥30 kg/m(2)) and nonobese women were compared. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate the association between obesity and repeat cesarean prior to active labor. Clinical interventions were compared between groups using t-test and χ (2) test. Results Among 2,098 women undergoing TOLAC, 1,454 (69%) were obese. Obese women were more likely to undergo repeat cesarean for an arrest disorder prior to active labor (odds ratio, 1.4; 95% confidence interval, 1.1-1.7) despite being allowed longer labors and receiving higher maximum doses of oxytocin for a longer duration than nonobese women. Conclusion Obese women were more likely to undergo repeat cesarean prior to active labor despite more clinical interventions to achieve vaginal birth.
Continuous quality improvement (CQI) has become prominent in public health settings; yet, little consolidated guidance exists for building CQI capacity of community-based organizations.
To synthesize ...relevant literature to identify guiding principles and core components critical to building the capacity of organizations to adopt and use CQI.
We employed a systematic review approach to assess guiding principles and core components for CQI capacity-building as outlined in the literature.
Studies meeting the following criteria were eligible for review: (1) empirical, peer-reviewed journal article, evaluation study, review, or systematic review; (2) published in 2010 or later; and (3) capacity-building activities were described in enough detail to be replicable. Studies not including human subjects, published in a language other than English, or for which full text was not available were excluded.
The initial return of records included 6557 articles, of which 1455 were duplicates. The research team single-screened titles and abstracts of 5102 studies, resulting in the exclusion of 4842 studies. Two hundred sixty-two studies were double-screened during full-text review, yielding a final sample of 61 studies from which data were extracted.
Outcome measures of interest were operationalized descriptions of guiding principles and core components of the CQI capacity-building approach.
Results yielded articles from medical education, health care, and public health settings. Findings included guiding principles and core components of CQI capacity-building identified in current practice, as well as infrastructural and contextual elements needed to build CQI capacity.
This consolidation of guiding principles and core components for CQI capacity-building is valuable for public health and related workforces. Despite the uneven distribution of articles from health care, medical education, and public health settings, our findings can be used to guide public health organizations in building CQI capacity in a well-informed, systematic manner.
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