Abstracts – 2008 - Obstetricia Crítica

New York Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York, NewYork 10021, USA. LMN4@Cornell.EduBACKGROUND: This case describes a birth-training device used by a pregnantwoman to stretch the perineum. CASE: A primigravida suffered nearcardiovascular collapse and subsequent acute respiratory distress syndromeafter using the device at home. Her symptoms and clinical course of diseaserevealed a high likelihood of venous air embolism. CONCLUSION: The patientlikely suffered a venous air embolism in association with the use of the birthtrainingdevice. The complications suffered by this patient should give cautionabout use of such devices.Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2008;87(4):408-12.Impaired maternal cognitive functioning after pregnancies complicated bysevere pre-eclampsia: a pilot case-control study.Brussé I, Duvekot J, Jongerling J, Steegers E, De Koning I.Division of Obstetrics and Prenatal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics andGynecology, Erasmus Medical Center. Rotterdam, TheNetherlands.i.brusse@erasmusmc.nlBACKGROUND: Pre-eclampsia is the most significant cause of neurologicalsymptoms in pregnancy. Neurological symptoms may persist even afterpregnancy. Somatic symptoms of pre-eclampsia, such as hypertension andproteinuria, generally disappear after delivery. However, formerly pre-eclampticwomen more often complain of cognitive disturbances compared to women afteruncomplicated pregnancies. METHODS: Three to eight months postpartum, aneuropsychological test battery was performed in 10 former severely preeclampticwomen (according to the guidelines of the American CollegeObstetricians and Gynecologists) and 10 women after uncomplicatednormotensive pregnancies. The control group was matched for age, educationallevel and mode of anesthesia. All women delivered by cesarean section eitherunder general or regional anesthesia. Tests were performed for premorbidintelligence, short- and long-term memory, attention, concentration, executivefunctions, visual and spatial abilities. Anxiety and depression levels weremeasured. RESULTS: The formerly pre-eclamptic women had significantly lowerscores on most indices of the auditory-verbal memory test. Formerly preeclampticpatients learned considerably fewer words than controls and recalledless after interference. Both case and control group did not differ in age, parity orlevel of education. There were no differences in the level of intellectualfunctioning and language tests, such as naming and word fluency. No persistentdifferences were observed in tests for attention/concentration and executivefunctioning. There were no significant differences on depression and anxietyscales. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal memory seems to be impaired afterpregnancies complicated by severe pre-eclampsia. This effect cannot beattributed to depression and/or anxiety or method of anesthesia.Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2008 Mar 28 [Epub ahead of print]Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and long-term prognosis.