Fatores determinantes da mortalidade neonatal em um município da Região Sul do Brasil

Pesquisa quantitativa do tipo ecológico cujo objetivo foi identificar os fatores de risco que determinaram o óbito neonatal no município de Londrina, Paraná, entre 2000 e 2009. Verificou-se que idade materna, escolaridade, renda familiar, ocupação, situação conjugal, tipo de parto e número de consultas pré-natais não se associaram ao óbito neonatal. Entretanto, o peso ao nascer, a idade gestacional, o índice de Apgar no 1º e 5º minutos e local do parto mostraram-se estatisticamente significativos. Mais de 73,0% dos recém-nascidos evoluíram para óbito no período neonatal precoce. A causa básica predominante foi a afecção perinatal (77,7%), sendo que 72,6% das mortes foram consideradas evitáveis e a maioria, reduzível por controle adequado da gravidez e do parto. Tais resultados reforçam a necessidade de investimentos na prevenção do parto prematuro com assistência antenatal e ao parto equitativa, acessível e integral entre os diferentes níveis de atenção à saúde materno-infantil.

The relationship between depressive symptoms and family functioning in institutionalized elderly

The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between family functioning and depressive symptoms among institutionalized elderly. This is a descriptive, cross-sectional study of quantitative character. A total of 107 institutionalized elderly were assessed using a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Geriatric Depression Scale (to track depressive symptoms) and the Family APGAR (to assess family functioning). The correlation coefficient of Pearson’s, the chi-square test and the crude and adjusted logistic regression were used in the data analysis with a significance level of 5 %. The institutionalized elderly with depressive symptoms were predominantly women and in the age group of 80 years and older. Regarding family functioning, most elderly had high family dysfunctioning (57 %). Family dysfunctioning was higher among the elderly with depressive symptoms. There was a significant correlation between family functioning and depressive symptoms. The conclusion is that institutionalized elderly with dysfunctional families are more likely to have depressive symptoms.

Family functioning of elderly with depressive symptoms

Objective: To classify families of elderly with depressive symptoms regarding their functioning and to ascertain the presence of an association between these symptoms, family functioning and the characteristics of the elderly. Method: This was an observational, analytical, cross-sectional study performed with 33 teams of the Family Health Strategy in Dourados, MS. The sample consisted of 374 elderly divided into two groups (with and without depressive symptoms). The instruments for data collection were a sociodemographic instrument, the GeriatricDepression Scale (15 items) and the Family Apgar. Results: An association was observed between depressive symptoms and family dysfunction, female gender, four or more people living together, and physical inactivity. Conclusion: The functional family may represent effective support for the elderly with depressive symptoms, because it offers a comfortable environment that ensures the well-being of its members. The dysfunctional family can barely provide necessary care for the elderly, which can exacerbate depressive symptoms.


Neonatal mortality in infants with low birth weigh

Objective To evaluate the factors associated with neonatal mortality in infant born with low birth weight. Method Cross-sectional study that analyzed data from 771 live births with low birth weight (<2500 g) in the city of Cuiabá, MT, in 2010, of whom 54 died in the neonatal period. We obtained data from the Information System on Live Births and Mortality, by integrated linkage. Results In multiple logistic regression, neonatal mortality was associated with: number of prenatal visits less than 7 (OR=3.80;CI:1,66-8,70); gestational age less than 37 weeks (OR=4.77;CI:1.48-15.38), Apgar score less than 7 at the 1st minute (OR=4.25;CI:1.84-9.81) and the 5th minute (OR=5.72,CI:2.24-14.60) and presence of congenital anomaly (OR=14.39;IC:2.72-76.09). Conclusion Neonatal mortality in infants with low birth weight is associated with avoidable factors through adequate attention to prenatal care, childbirth and infants.


Adverse obstetrical and neonatal outcomes in elective and medically indicated inductions of labor at term.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the adverse neonatal and maternal outcomes after medically indicated and elective labor induction. Both induction groups were also compared to women with spontaneous onset of labor. METHOD: Retrospective cohort study of 13 971 women with live, cephalic singleton pregnancies who delivered at term (from 1997 to 2007). Adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes were compared between women who underwent an induction of labor in the presence and absence of standard medical indications. RESULTS: Among 5090 patients with induced labor, 2059 (40.5%) underwent elective labor inductions, defined as inductions without any medical or obstetrical indication. Risks of cesarean or instrumental delivery, postpartum hemorrhage >500 ml, prolonged maternal hospitalization >6 days, Apgar<7 at 5 min of life, arterial umbilical cord pH<7.1, admission in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and prolonged NICU hospitalization >7 days were similar between nulliparous who underwent elective and medical labor induction. Similar results were obtained for multiparous. All the above mentioned risks, but the Apgar<7 at 5 min of life, were significantly increased after induction in comparison to spontaneous labor. CONCLUSION: Elective induction of labor carries similar obstetrical and neonatal risks as a medically indicated labor induction. Thus, elective induction of labor should be strongly discouraged.

Effect of physical activity during pregnancy on mode of delivery.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of structured physical exercise programs during pregnancy on the course of labor and delivery. STUDY DESIGN: We conducted a systematic review and metaanalysis using the following data sources: Medline and The Cochrane Library. In our study, we used randomized controlled trials (RCT) that evaluated the effects of exercise programs during pregnancy on labor and delivery. The results are summarized as relative risks. RESULTS: In the 16 RCTs that were included there were 3359 women. Women in exercise groups had a significantly lower risk of cesarean delivery (relative risk, 0.85; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.73-0.99). Birthweight was not significantly reduced in exercise groups. The risk of instrumental delivery was similar among groups (relative risk, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.82-1.22). Data on Apgar score, episiotomy, epidural anesthesia, perineal tear, length of labor, and induction of labor were insufficient to draw conclusions. With the use of data from 11 studies (1668 women), our analysis showed that women in the exercise groups gained significantly less weight than women in control groups (mean difference, -1.13 kg; 95% CI, -1.49 to -0.78). CONCLUSION: Structured physical exercise during pregnancy reduces the risk of cesarean delivery. This is an important finding to convince women to be active during their pregnancy and should lead the physician to recommend physical exercise to pregnant women, when this is not contraindicated.

Association of moderate alcohol use and binge drinking during pregnancy with neonatal health.

Background:  Heavy drinking and smoking during pregnancy are known to have a negative impact on the unborn child. However, the impact of low-to-moderate alcohol consumption and binge drinking has been debated recently. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship of moderate prenatal drinking and binge drinking with birthweight, being small for gestational age (SGA) at birth, preterm birth, and neonatal asphyxia. Methods:  Moderate alcohol drinking, binge drinking, and several possible confounders were assessed in 1,258 pregnant women; information on neonatal health was obtained at birth. Results:  Results indicate that 30.8% of the women drank at low levels (<2 glasses/wk), 7.9% drank moderately (2 to 4 glasses/wk), and 0.9% showed higher levels of drinking (≥5 glasses/wk); 4.7% reported binge drinking (defined as ≥3 glasses/occasion). 6.4% of the children were SGA (<10th percentile of birthweight adjusted for gestational age), 4.6% were preterm (<37th week of gestation), and 13.0% showed asphyxia (arterial cord pH <7.10 and/or arterial cord lactate >6.35 mmol and/or Apgar score <7 at 5 minutes). When controlling for maternal age, citizenship, occupational status, parity, smoking, use of prescription/over-the-counter drugs, illicit drug use, and child gender moderate drinking was related to lower birthweight (p < 0.01), and moderate drinking and binge drinking were associated with neonatal asphyxia at trend level (p = 0.06 and p = 0.09). Moderate drinking and binge drinking were not related to length of gestation. Conclusions:  In contrast to recent reviews in the field, our results assume that moderate drinking and binge drinking are risk factors for neonatal health.

Cell death and autophagy after severe hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy in term newborns

Introduction: Various studies from hypoxic-ischemic animals haveinvestigated neuroprotection by targeting necrosis and apoptosis with inconclusive results. Three types of cell death have been described: apoptosis, necrosis and more recently, autophagic cell death. While autophagy is a physiological process of degradation of cellular components, excessive autophagy may be involved in cell death. Recent studies showed that inhibition of autophagy is neuroprotective in rodent neonatal models of cerebral ischemia. Furthermore, neonatal hypoxia-ischemia strongly increased neuronal autophagic flux which is linked to cell death in a rat model of perinatal asphyxia. Following our observations in animals, the aim of the present study was to characterize the different neuronal death phenotypes and to clarify whether autophagic cell death could be also involved in neuronal death in the human newborns after perinatal asphyxia. Methods: we selected retrospectively and anonymously all newborns who died in our unit of neonatology between 2004 and 2009, with the following criteria: gestational age >36 weeks, diagnosis of perinatal asphyxia (Apgar <5 at 5 minutes, arterial pH <7.0 at 1 hour of life and encephalopathy Sarnat III) and performed autopsy. The brain of 6 cases in asphyxia group and 6 control cases matching gestational age who died of pulmonary or other malformations were selected. On histological sections of thalamus, frontal cortex and hippocampus, different markers of apoptosis (caspase 3, TUNEL), autophagosomes (LC3-II) and lysosomes (LAMP1, Cathepsin D) were tested by immunohistochemistry. Results: Preliminary studies on markers of apoptosis (TUNEL, caspase 3) and of autophagy (Cathepsin D, LC3II, LAMP1) showed an expected increase of apoptosis, but also an increase of neuronal autophagic flux in the selected areas. The distribution seems to be region specific. Conclusion: This is the first time that autophagic flux linked with cell death is shown in brain of human babies, in association with hypoxicischemic encephalopathy. This work leads to a better understanding of the mechanisms associated with neuronal death following perinatal asphyxia and determines whether autophagy could be a promising therapeutic target.

Diagnostic and prognostic value of cerebral 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy in neonates with perinatal asphyxia.

The impact of depressed neonatal cerebral oxidative phosphorylation for diagnosing the severity of perinatal asphyxia was estimated by correlating the concentrations of phosphocreatine (PCr) and ATP as determined by magnetic resonance spectroscopy with the degree of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) in 23 asphyxiated term neonates. Ten healthy age-matched neonates served as controls. In patients, the mean concentrations +/- SD of PCr and ATP were 0.99 +/- 0.46 mmol/L (1.6 +/- 0.2 mmol/L) and 0.99 +/- 0.35 mmol/L (1.7 +/- 0.2 mmol/L), respectively (normal values in parentheses). [PCr] and [ATP] correlated significantly with the severity of HIE (r = 0.85 and 0.9, respectively, p < 0.001), indicating that the neonatal encephalopathy is the clinical manifestation of a marred brain energy metabolism. Neurodevelopmental outcome was evaluated in 21 children at 3, 9, and 18 mo. Seven infants had multiple impairments, five were moderately handicapped, five had only mild symptoms, and four were normal. There was a significant correlation between the cerebral concentrations of PCr or ATP at birth and outcome (r = 0.8, p < 0.001) and between the degree of neonatal neurologic depression and outcome (r = 0.7). More important, the outcome of neonates with moderate HIE could better be predicted with information from quantitative 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy than from neurologic examinations. In general, the accuracy of outcome predictability could significantly be increased by adding results from 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy to the neonatal neurologic score, but not vice versa. No correlation with outcome was found for other perinatal risk factors, including Apgar score.

Moxibustión en la malposición fetal

Introducción: La incidencia de la presentación fetal podálica en España es del 3,8%. La moxibustión es parte integral de la milenaria medicina tradicional china. La técnica consiste en la colocación de un palillo incandescente de Artemisia vulgaris a unos pocos centímetros del punto de acupuntura Zhiyin (punto 67 del meridiano de vejiga, ubicado en la base externa de la uña del quinto dedo del pie). Los objetivos son: 1. Conocer el porcentaje de fetos que han rotado a cefálica mediante la moxibustión en gestantes que presenten una malposición fetal a partir de las 32 semanas de embarazo; 2. Identificar las complicaciones materno-fetales en la aplicación de la técnica. Sujetos: Se estudiaron 18 gestantes de más de 32 semanas de embarazo. Material y métodos: Mediante un estudio descriptivo de intervención, analizamos el porcentaje de fetos que rotaron a presentación cefálica. Resultados: Quince gestantes (83,9%) realizaron el tratamiento adecuadamente y las 3 restantes (16,7%) lo realizaron de manera ocasional y terminaron con una cesárea electiva por nalgas. Conclusiones: Parece razonable concluir que el cumplimiento del tratamiento influye en el tipo de parto (χ2= 12,600; gl= 1; p= 0,000), aunque no modifica el Apgar del recién nacido. Esta técnica se presenta como una alternativa económica, segura, sencilla y práctica para la versión fetal de la presentación podálica.

Dopplervelocimetria fetoplacentária em gestantes hipertensas e resultados perinatais segundo a idade gestacional

OBJETIVO: Avaliar índices de pulsatilidade das artérias umbilical (IPAU) e cerebral média (IPACM) e relação do índice de pulsatilidade umbilico-cerebral (IPAU/IPACM) em fetos de gestantes hipertensas e presença de resultados perinatais adversos. MATERIAIS E MÉTODOS: Analisamos IPAU, IPACM e IPAU/IPACM de 289 fetos de gestantes hipertensas quanto à previsão dos resultados perinatais adversos. Os resultados foram comparados sem e com ajuste pela idade gestacional. RESULTADOS: O índice de Apgar < 7 no 5º minuto foi associado com resultados alterados após o ajuste por idade gestacional. O risco para recém-nascidos pequenos para a idade gestacional aumentou em três vezes após o ajuste, com significância estatística em todos os parâmetros do Doppler. Na síndrome da hipóxia neonatal o aumento do risco ajustado pela idade gestacional foi estatisticamente significante no IPAU e IPAU/IPACM. Não houve aumento no risco de síndrome do desconforto respiratório na análise ajustada. A mortalidade perinatal e o IPAU alterado apresentaram um risco três vezes maior e foram estatisticamente significantes após o ajuste. CONCLUSÃO: Em gestantes hipertensas, o IPAU apresentou melhor correlação com os resultados perinatais do que o IPACM ou relação IPAU/IPACM. O risco de resultados adversos deve considerar a idade gestacional.

Picnodisóstosis

Lactante varón de seis meses de edad que consulta por retraso de crecimiento manifiesto desde los cuatro meses. Antecedentes familiares. Primera gestación de padres jóvenes no consanguíneos. Antecedentes personales.Embarazo y parto sin incidencias. Apgar 8-10-10. Somatometría neonatal: peso 3200 g, longitud 48 cm, perímetro craneal 34,5 cm. No patología perinatal. Desarrollo psicomotor: sonrisa social a los 20 días. Sostén cefálico al mes de vida....

É pior o prognóstico do segundo gemelar ?

Muito se discute sobre as desvantagens que sofre o gêmeo que nasce por derradeiro, em relação às condições de seu nascimento. Neste estudo foram revistos 90 casos de partos gemelares ocorridos na Maternidade da Encruzilhada (CISAM) em Recife, entre Janeiro de 1992 e Dezembro de 1993, com o objetivo de comparar variáveis perinatais entre o 1º e o 2º gemelar. Foram pesquisados a estática fetal, a via de parto, o peso ao nascer, o Apgar do 1º e 5º minutos, a ocorrência de complicações neonatais como a síndrome da membrana hialina, taquipnéia transitória e infecção neonatal e, finalmente, o prognóstico de cada um dos gemelares. Não houve diferença estatisticamente significativa na incidência de apresentações não cefálicas, operação cesariana, baixo peso ao nascer, Apgar < 7 no 1º e 5º minutos ou das complicações neonatais acima referidas. Não houve também diferença na mortalidade perinatal entre os gêmeos. Nossos resultados sugerem ser iguais as condições de nascimento dos gemelares de uma mesma gestação, devendo ser prestada uma assistência igualmente apurada a ambos pela equipe de perinatologia.

Diagnóstico, Conduta Obstétrica e Resultados Perinatais em Fetos com Hidrocefalia

Objetivo: avaliar os métodos para diagnóstico, características da gestação, complicações maternas e resultados perinatais em casos de hidrocefalia congênita, correlacionando-os com variáveis gestacionais e do parto. Método: avaliaram-se 116 gestações com este diagnóstico antes ou após o parto, dos quais 112 ocorridos na Maternidade do CAISM da UNICAMP no período de 1986 a 1995. Para as variáveis perinatais, utilizaram-se os dados completos de 82 recém-nascidos. Para a análise dos dados, calcularam-se as distribuições e médias, usando-se os testes de c² e exato de Fisher. Resultados: geralmente o diagnóstico foi anterior ao parto, confirmado pelo exame ecográfico, e o parto foi por cesárea na maioria dos casos. A cefalocentese foi realizada em 11 casos e as complicações no parto vaginal foram mais freqüentes que na cesárea. O índice de Apgar baixo foi mais freqüente entre os recém-nascidos de parto vaginal. A hidrocefalia congênita esteve também associada a importante morbidade e mortalidade neonatal e perinatal, outras malformações e número muito pequeno de crianças sem seqüelas. Conclusões: a avaliação destes fatores pode ser de grande utilidade para o obstetra acompanhar gestantes com esta malformação fetal, dando maior respaldo às decisões que, além de médicas e éticas, devem levar em conta a relação risco-benefício das medidas a serem tomadas.

O Impacto da Idade Materna Avançada sobre os Resultados da Gravidez

Objetivo: identificar o efeito da idade sobre os resultados maternos e perinatais das gestações ocorridas em mulheres com 40 anos ou mais. Métodos: comparamos 494 gestantes com mais de 40 anos, com 988 gestantes com idade entre 20 e 29 anos, pareando-as por paridade. Após controlar possíveis variáveis confundidoras pela análise multivariada, a idade materna avançada manteve associação com a maior prevalência de hipertensão arterial, apresentação anômala, parto por cesária, hemorragia puerperal, índice de Apgar baixo, morte perinatal, natimortalidade e sofrimento fetal intraparto. Resultados: a idade materna avançada esteve isoladamente associada à hipertensão arterial, apresentação anômala, diagnóstico de sofrimento fetal intraparto, parto por cesária e hemorragia puerperal. Com relação aos resultados neonatais, a idade materna avançada estava associada independentemente apenas ao baixo índice de Apgar, morte perinatal e óbito fetal. Conclusões: esses achados mostram a necessidade de assistência obstétrica adequada com atenção especial a esses fatores para procurar melhorar os resultados maternos e perinatais das gestantes com idade avançada.