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Early diagnosis of m?llerian anomalies is important because they can have a significant impact on a woman?s reproductive potential. Sonographic clues lead the way to prompt and precise classification.

An improved version of this long-standing technique is back in favor and once again yielding impressive cure rates. Two experts give step-by-step guidelines for an easy-to-perform ablative alternative for persistent low-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia.

When is OVD indicated? When do the risks outweigh the potential advantages? What should your pre-op assessment include? To answer these and related questions, two experts take an in-depth look at the research data.

The pathogenic triad of vascular stasis, hypercoagulability, and vascular injury remains the prime initiator of thrombosis, and gynecologic surgery is associated with all three.

Obesity has become epidemic in the United States. Why have obesity/overweight grown so rapidly and what role should the ob/gyn play in addressing this major health issue?

A new prediction model may reduce the rate of high-order multiple pregnancy (HOMP)—triplets or more—by about 75%, but only reduces the overall pregnancy rate by 8%, according to the results of a prospective study from Spain.

Menopause is not simply the result of ovarian failure or depletion; evidently it's also the result of a hypothalamic-pituitary insensitivity to estrogen during the perimenopausal period, according to a multiethnic, observational, cohort study.

The ability to obtain emergency contraception (EC) directly from a pharmacist does not mean women would be more inclined to use it than if they only had access through a clinic, according to a randomized, controlled trial of over 2,000 women.

Insisting that women in labor for the first time wait for epidurals does nothing to lower the cesarean section rate, according to a large, randomized, controlled trial in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Recognize the signs and symptoms of septic shock early on and act quickly. Doing so increases the odds of halting the progression of this infrequently encountered but life-threatening condition.

Charting tops the list, according to an informal survey conducted by Medical Economics (12/17/04).

Venous thromboembolism (VTE), a leading cause of death and disability in women, principally manifests as deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and acute pulmonary embolism (PE). Every year, as many as 600,000 patients develop a PE in the United States, resulting in up to 200,000 deaths.

Recognize the signs and symptoms of septic shock early on and act quickly. Doing so increases the odds of halting the progression of this infrequently encountered but life-threatening condition.

Weight loss surgery may increase fertility but it can also heighten her risk of nutritional deficiencies and the GI problems associated with pregnancy. As more patients seek these procedures, ob/gyns need practical guidelines for managing their care.

Miss SC was a 21-year-old G4, P0030 at 21 weeks' gestation by last menstrual period and confirmed by second-trimester ultrasound. Her pregnancy, which had been managed through a clinic, was complicated by multiple urinary tract infections and she had recently been diagnosed with pyelonephritis. The condition was treated with IV antibiotics at a community hospital and she was discharged with a prescription for ampicillin to be taken for 7 days. Miss SC said she felt well until 2 days before her second admission to the same community hospital, when she began having sharp, intermittent right upper-quadrant pain that was unrelated to eating.

Although isolated CPCs rarely have any effect on cerebral function in a chromosomally normal fetus, researchers have recently linked them to trisomy 18. Two experts discuss when to consider invasive prenatal testing.

Whether you're trying to pinpoint one of the underlying mechanisms behind PCOS, detect diabetes in its preclinical stage, or work up a patient with metabolic syndrome, a more in-depth understanding of the various laboratory approaches to assess insulin function can only improve your diagnostic skills.

As more patients with abnormal uterine bleeding look for alternatives to hysterectomy, drug therapy, and D&C, clinicians are turning to endometrial ablation to meet their needs. This brief overview takes a look at some of the advantages and disadvantages of cryoablation.

Metabolic profiling of amniotic fluid (AF) is a new way to identify which women experiencing preterm labor are also at risk for preterm delivery, with and without infection or inflammation, according to prize-winning research presented at the SMFM meeting.

Perhaps so. Measuring middle cerebral artery (MCA) peak velocity on Doppler ultrasound is significantly better at predicting severe fetal anemia than traditional assessment via amniotic fluid ?OD450, says a well-designed clinical trial involving a large cohort of fetuses. In addition, it's noninvasive and can safely replace the AF assessment in managing Rh-alloimmunized pregnancies.

The risk of stillbirth does not increase after 20 weeks' gestation for pregnant women who've previously delivered by C/S; at least in the United States.

Contrary to conventional medical wisdom, metformin compares favorably with insulin for controlling blood sugar in A2 gestational diabetes—GD with elevated fasting blood sugar levels.

Amnioinfusion (AI) doesn't lower the risk of meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS), cesarean delivery, or other key complications in women in labor with thickly meconium-stained amniotic fluid, according to a international randomized trial involving nearly 2,000 patients presented at this year's SMFM meeting in Reno.

Although several studies have shown that patients with ovarian cancer fare better if they receive specialized care, many of these women are not being referred to a gynecologic oncologist. A recent chart review of over 1,000 patients with pelvic masses strongly suggests that when clinicians follow the expert referral guidelines issued by the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists and ACOG, patients are definitely the winners.

About 91% of low-grade abnormalities on Pap smears in immunocompetent young women regress within 3 years of their finding, and only about 3% progress to high-grade disease, according to a recent cohort study. The findings provide strong support for the position that subjecting all young women with low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL) to colposcopy is unwarranted.