Biomedical subjects

M I Barrada

Publications and source records attributed to M I Barrada.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1980

The effects of betamethasone on fetal development in the rabbit.

Pregnant rabbits were injected with either 0.8 mg of betamethasone or with a comparable volume of saline on days 24 and 25 of gestation and delivered by cesarean section on day 26. There was a significant reduction in the weight of fetuses and in the weights of fetal brain, lungs, liver, and placenta in betamethasone-treated animals. With respect to the fetal brain, the concentration of DNA, the average of cell number, cell size, cell weight, and cell phospholipids were unaffected whereas the concentrations of phospholipids and protein were elevated in the treatment group.

Animals↗

PubMed1979

Pregnancy in the underweight woman. Course, outcome, and growth patterns of the infant.

The obstetric performance and pregnancy outcome of 354 underweight patients were compared with matched control subjects of normal weight. The growth patterns of their infants were also compared. The underweight women had significantly higher rates of cardiac/respiratory problems, anemia, PROM, and endometritis but were less prone to develop pre-eclampsia. Prematurity and low Apgar scores were significantly more frequent in the infants of underweight women. There was no difference in the frequency of IUGR and in perinatal mortality rates. The mean birth weight of the infants of underweight women was 231 grams less than that of infants of control subjects. Underweight women, particularly if they were anemic, had a higher incidence of low-birth-weight infants despite adequate weight gain. AGA infants of underweight women were more likely to be below the twenty-fifth percentile for weight correlated with length by 12 months of age.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1979

Antepartum fetal testing. I. The oxytocin challenge test.

Two hundred seventy-eight high-risk patients were managed by a comprehensive assessment of the anatomic, biochemical, and functional environment of the fetoplacental unit utilizing predetermined guidelines. Decisions to terminate pregnancy were reserved for patients who demonstrated a positive OCT. Perinatal outcome in patients with positive OCT's was significantly worse than in patients who did not have a positive OCT. Patients with suspicious OCT's frequently had positive OCT's and were more likely to bear growth-retarded infants, whereas negative OCT's in general were associated with a favorable outcome. Correlation of estriol excretion with the OCT and perinatal outcome was inconsistent. There were a total of four prenatal deaths, all of which were considered unpreventable.

Congenital Abnormalities↗

PubMed1979

Antepartum fetal testing. II. The acceleration/constant ratio: a nonstress test.

For a period of one-half hour of undisturbed fetal monitoring, periodic changes of the FHR in response to spontaneous fetal movements (FM's) were recorded. FM's in patients who subsequently had positive OCT's were less likely to show accelerations (p = 0.001) and more likely to show variable decelerations (p = less than 0.001) and no change (p = less than 0.001) in the FHR when compared with patients who did not have a positive OCT. A ratio between the number of FM's associated with accelerations and the sum of FM's associated with no change and decelerations was defined as the acceleration/constant (A/C) ratio. The outcome in patients who exhibited reactive tests (i.e., A/C ratio greater than 1) was more favorable than the outcome in patients with nonreactive tests (i.e., A/C ratio less than or equal to 1). Patients with positive OCT's universally showed nonreactive tests, whereas patients with false positive OCT's were more likely to have reactive tests. Evidence is presented to suggest that the A/C ratio is more predictive of the intrauterine environment than the OCT.

Cesarean Section↗

PubMed1979

A Simplified antepartum risk-scoring system.

The effectiveness of a simple antepartum risk-scoring system was evaluated in 2085 consecutive deliveries. Neonatal morbidity was observed in 42.1% of infants of mothers classified as high risk (score greater than or equal to 7) compared to 12.5% of infants of mothers classified as low risk (score less than 7). No neonatal deaths were observed in the low-risk group, compared with 34 in the high-risk group (P less than 0.001). Of all perinatal deaths, 88.6% occurred in the high-risk group. The perinatal mortality rates for low- and high-risk pregnancies were 7.2 and 63.3, respectively, per 1000 live births.

False Negative Reactions↗

PubMed1978

Gonorrhea in pregnancy.

Pregnancy complicated by gonorrhea was studied in 178 patients delivered of their infants over an eight-year period. There was an increased incidence of chorioamnionitis (p less than 0.05) and intrauterine growth retardation (p less than 0.05) in these patients when compared with matched controls. In 19 patients with positive gonorrheal cultures at delivery, there was a significant increase in the incidence of premature rupture of membranes (p less than 0.05), chorioamnionitis (p less than 0.05), and prematurity (p less than 0.05). Recurrence or persistence of positive cultures was found in 18 per cent of the patients with pregnancy gonorrhea. Two required hospitalization for intensive parenteral treatment when repeated attempts at outpatient management were unsuccessful.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1977

Maternal intravenous ethanol in the prevention of respiratory distress syndrome.

The occurrence of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) was studied in 68 premature neonates whose mothers were treated with at least one six-hour course of intravenous ethyl alcohol within 48 hours before delivery. At the gestational interval of 28 to 32 weeks, significant differences were observed in the incidence of RDS (p = less than 0.05), in severe RDS (p = less than 0.005), and in the mortality rate from RDS ( = less than 0.05), when compared to premature neonates not treated with alcohol and delivered during the same time interval. Several high-risk factors were found unevenly distributed between treated and control groups of patients, and their relevance to RDS was discussed. Premature rupture of membranes of more than 24 hours did not protect infants from RDS in the patients studied. Explanations for possible mechanisms of action are discussed.

Apgar Score↗