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F Giacomello

Publications and source records attributed to F Giacomello.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Impaired human ovarian follicular fluid complement function in hereditary angioedema.

We sought and detected functionally active complement in human ovarian follicular fluid obtained during the peri-ovulatory period. All the functional complement activities tested, including total haemolytic complement, classical pathway activity, alternative pathway activity and C1 inhibitor function were present with values within the normal serum range. Active complement in follicular fluid is relevant for the function of the enzymatic multifactorial mechanism of ovulation. The presence in hereditary angioedema patients of both complement (C1 inhibitor deficiency and chronically consumed complement) and ovarian abnormalities (cystic ovaries), led us to study complement function in the follicular fluid of women of reproductive age affected with hereditary angioedema. In contrast to healthy women, hereditary angioedema patients showed dramatically reduced classical pathway activity and undetectable functional and antigenic C1 inhibitor. C4 was very low, while C3 and B were slightly reduced or within the normal serum range. This complement profile was also detected in patients' sera. Since hereditary angioedema patients often show cystic ovaries (polycystic or multifollicular), the presence of multifollicular ovaries in the two patients studied, along with complement dysfunction, may be relevant. These findings, as well as the normalisation of the ovaries found by us in hereditary angioedema patients and in the patients reported here who were undergoing danazol treatment, and the increase in C1 inhibitor and the improvement of clinical symptoms, suggest a further link between complement and ovarian function.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

[Spontaneous heterotopic pregnancy with live embryos: an insidious echographic problem in the first trimester. Therapeutic problems. A clinical case and review of the literature].

A case of spontaneous heterotopic pregnancy (simultaneous intra- and extrauterine) with living embryos is described. A 26 year old primigravida, affected by threatened abortion at 7 weeks gestation with right pelvic pain underwent a transvaginal sonography which allowed a certain diagnosis. A minilaparotomy with right salpingectomy was performed at the 8th week of gestation. Intrauterine pregnancy was uneventful and a healthy female infant was delivered at term weighting 3200 g. The international literature concerning heterotopic pregnancy is reviewed. Diagnostic and therapeutic aspects are discussed in the light of this case. Heterotopic pregnancy is an insidious pathology with a constant increase of incidence that should be considered as a diagnostic possibility in all cases at risk. Minilaparotomic salpingectomy in general anesthesia is probably the safest treatment for the patient and the least traumatic for a good outcome of her intrauterine pregnancy.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Role of antepartum computerized fetal heart rate analysis in the prediction of fetal distress during labor.

OBJECTIVE: To ascertain the diagnostic ability of a computerized fetal heart rate (FHR) analysis system in the identification of patients at risk of fetal distress in labor. STUDY DESIGN: Five-hundred and seventy-seven healthy term pregnancies were enrolled in a prospective, cross-sectional study and subdivided into two groups, with (n = 90) or without (n = 487) fetal distress in labor. Computerized FHR recordings were performed periodically and regression analysis was performed in a univariate and multivariate way to assess the ability of the last FHR recordings in the prediction of subsequent fetal distress. RESULTS: The two groups showed a significant difference in almost all of the FHR parameters studied. The multivariate analysis showed that only the FHR baseline and the percentage of small acceleration were independently and significantly related to the labor outcome. The combination of these two parameters reaches a sensitivity of 45%, specificity of 91%, positive predictive value of 48% and negative predictive value of 90%, with an overall accuracy of 84%. CONCLUSIONS: The increase in FHR baseline and in small FHR accelerations can be major factors in the prediction of subsequent fetal distress in healthy term fetuses.

Computers↗
PubMed1993

[Umbilical flowmetry: effect of measurement sites on the results].

Pulsed Doppler duplex sonography was performed longitudinally on 11 uncomplicated singleton pregnancies from 20 to 41 week's gestation (87 measurements). Blood flow velocities were recorded at 3 locations: abdominal insertion site (O), in the free floating part (C), placental insertion site (PL). The objective of the study was to determine whether the C site S/D ratio, the quickest and easiest to perform, relates to the other sites. The S/D ratio measurements fell from the near abdomen (O) to the free floating part (C) to the placental insertion site (PL) between 25-35 week's gestation. Statistical analysis, including analysis of variance for repeated measures and student t test, showed no significant difference in S/D ratio among the locations before 25 and after 35 week's gestation. The S/D ratio at the O site was significantly higher than at the PL site between 25-35 week's gestation; the C site was not significantly different from the PL site.

Blood Flow Velocity↗
PubMed1992

[Hysteroscopic evaluation of endometrial ultrasonic anomalies in asymptomatic postmenopausal patients. Preliminary results].

A group of 248 asymptomatic postmenopausal patients was evaluated using transvaginal echography. Thirty-five patients with endometrial echopatterns which were larger than 8 mm and/or irregular then underwent hysteroscopy and endometrial biopsy. Results show that 31.4% of cases in which there was a thickening of the endometrial echopattern correspond to the presence of polyp, myoma, synechia with atrophic endometrium. In conclusion, the Authors affirm the inappropriateness of the term "endometrial echopattern" in menopause, since this term should be reserved to describe the typical appearance of the endometrium during the reproductive phase. They stress that ultrasonography can reveal anomalies of the internal echostructure of the womb but that further tests (e.g. hysteroscopy, biopsy) are required to diagnose their nature.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

[Doppler flowmetry in a case of single umbilical artery].

A case of sonographic diagnosis of single umbilical artery associated with hypoplastic left heart syndrome and left renal agenesis is reported. Umbilical artery Doppler waveforms are presented and discussed for the first time.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

[Dynamic ultrasonic hysteroscopy].

An attempt was made to establish Dynamic Echohysteroscopy (DEHS) diagnostic criteria for the study of female genital apparatus, as recently proposed. DEHS consists of a pelvic ultrasonography during and following an injection of physiological solution in the uterine cavity. Since this technique does not use X-rays, it has been proven useful to study female infertility. The authors have studied the normal and pathological aspects of 33 patients who underwent both DEHS and hysterosalpingography (HSG) (comparison diagnostic test). The results lead to the following conclusions: 1) DEHS can be considered a useful alternative to HSG, in the evaluation of uterine pathology; 2) in the evaluation of tubal pathology, DEHS has fewer diagnostic possibilities than HSG. Nevertheless, DEHS indirectly allows the patency of at least one tube.

Adult↗