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N J Hoeldtke

Publications and source records attributed to N J Hoeldtke.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Perinatal hospice.

When the prenatal diagnosis of a lethal fetal anomaly has been established, some patients choose to continue their pregnancy. Currently, there is a paucity of medical literature addressing the specific management of families in this unique circumstance. We propose a model of care that incorporates the strengths of prenatal diagnosis, perinatal grief management, and hospice care to address the needs of these families. We discuss the identification of candidates for this form of care; the multidisciplinary team approach; and the aspects of antepartum, intrapartum, and postpartum care. Finally, we discuss some barriers that might need to be overcome when attempting to implement perinatal hospice care.

Congenital Abnormalities↗
PubMed2000

Vasodilatory response of fetoplacental vasculature to adrenomedullin after constriction with the thromboxane sympathomimetic U46619.

OBJECTIVE: This study was undertaken to determine whether adrenomedullin, a hypotensive peptide, decreases vasomotor tone in fetoplacental vasculature that has been constricted with the thromboxane sympathomimetic U46619. STUDY DESIGN: The fetoplacental vascular beds of 20 perfused human placental cotyledons were vasoconstricted with a continuous infusion of U46619 (10(-8) mol/L). The vasculature was then sequentially injected with deionized water, 30 ng adrenomedullin, 300 ng adrenomedullin, and 3000 ng adrenomedullin. Any change in perfusion pressure was noted after each dose. In a separate experiment the fetoplacental vasculature in 2 perfused cotyledons from each of 10 placentas was vasoconstricted with U46619 (10(-8) mol/L). Adrenomedullin was infused continuously at either 200 ng/min (n = 5) or 2000 ng/min (n = 5) for 40 minutes. A corresponding control cotyledon from each placenta had isotonic sodium chloride solution added to its perfusion. Perfusion pressures were recorded every minute during the infusion and for 40 minutes afterward. Analysis of variance was used to compare pressure changes in the cotyledons that received bolus doses of adrenomedullin. Paired t tests of mean percentage pressure changes were used to compare the study and control groups that received the continuous infusions. RESULTS: In the cotyledons that received bolus doses of adrenomedullin, the mean (+/-SEM) percentage perfusion pressure changes from the baseline were -6.7 +/- 0.5 for 30 ng adrenomedullin (P =.0039), -8.5+/- 0.7 for 300 ng adrenomedullin (P <.0001), and -13.1 +/- 1.0 for 3000 ng adrenomedullin (P <.0001). With the continuous adrenomedullin infusion of 200 ng/min, there was no significant difference in the mean percentage pressure change from baseline between the study and control groups (-0.57%). At 2000 ng/min there was a significant difference (-15.34%; P <.0001). CONCLUSION: Adrenomedullin caused vasodilatation of fetoplacental vasculature previously constricted with the thromboxane sympathomimetic U46619 in the isolated perfused placental cotyledon. This vasodilatation occurred in a dose-dependent manner.

15-Hydroxy-11 alpha,9 alpha-(epoxymethano)prosta-5↗
PubMed1998

Adrenomedullin concentrations in umbilical cord plasma of uncomplicated term pregnancies.

OBJECTIVE: The study's objective was to determine whether there is a difference in the plasma concentration of adrenomedullin, a hypotensive peptide, between arterial and venous umbilical cord blood of uncomplicated gestations with vaginal delivery. STUDY DESIGN: Arterial and venous umbilical cord blood was obtained immediately after vaginal delivery of 44 term infants with uncomplicated antepartum and intrapartum courses. Radioimmunoassay was performed to assess adrenomedullin concentrations in the plasma. The paired t test was used to compare arterial and venous concentrations. Significance was set at P < .05. RESULTS: Mean +/- SE adrenomedullin concentrations were 178.7 +/- 4.7 pg/mL and 190.6 +/- 6.3 pg/mL for arterial and venous cord plasma, respectively. The difference between the 2 concentrations was not significant (11.8 pg/mL, P = .09). CONCLUSION: Arterial and venous umbilical plasma concentrations of adrenomedullin do not differ significantly in uncomplicated gestations terminating with uncomplicated vaginal deliveries. This suggests that in the normal state there is neither net production nor net clearance of adrenomedullin in the placenta.

Adrenomedullin↗
PubMed1997

Fetoplacental vascular tone during fetal circuit acidosis and acidosis with hypoxia in the ex vivo perfused human placental cotyledon.

OBJECTIVES: Our purpose was to determine the effects of acidosis and acidosis-hypoxia on fetoplacental perfusion pressure and its response to angiotensin II. STUDY DESIGN: Perfused cotyledons from 14 placentas were studied with either an acidotic fetal circuit perfusate (n = 7) or an acidotic-hypoxic fetal circuit perfusate (n = 7). Each cotyledon's fetal vasculature was initially perfused under standard conditions and bolus injected with 1 x 10(-10) moles of angiotensin II. Fetoplacental perfusate was then replaced with either an acidotic medium (pH 6.90 to 7.00 and Po2 516 to 613 mm Hg) or an acidotic-hypoxic medium (pH 6.90 to 7.00 and Po2 20 to 25 mm Hg) followed by an angiotensin II injection. The vasculature was subsequently recovered with standard perfusate and again injected with angiotensin II. Perfusion pressures within each group were compared by one-way analysis of variance, and results were expressed as mean pressure +/- SEM. RESULTS: Resting fetoplacental perfusion pressure did not change when the fetal circuit perfusate was made acidotic (28 +/- 1 mm Hg vs 25 +/- 2 mm Hg) or acidotic-hypoxic (26 +/- 2 mm Hg vs 25 +/- 2 mm Hg). The maximal fetoplacental perfusion pressure achieved in response to angiotensin II did not differ with an acidotic perfusate (41 +/- 2 mm Hg vs 38 +/- 1 mm Hg) or with an acidotic-hypoxic perfusate (39 +/- 2 mm Hg vs 36 +/- 2 mm Hg). CONCLUSIONS: In the perfused placental cotyledon fetoplacental perfusion pressure and pressor response to angiotensin II are not affected by fetal circuit acidosis or acidosis-hypoxia. This suggests that neither fetal acidosis nor fetal acidosis combined with hypoxia has a direct effect on fetoplacental vascular tone.

Acidosis↗
PubMed1997

The fetoplacental pressor effects of low-dose acetylsalicylic acid and angiotensin II in the ex vivo cotyledon model.

OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to investigate perfusion pressure changes ex vivo induced by angiotensin II on fetoplacental vasculature pretreated with low-dose acetylsalicylic acid. STUDY DESIGN: Two cotyledons from each of 12 placentas were perfused. The intervillous space of one cotyledon was infused with acetylsalicylic acid (5 x 10(-5) mol/L) similar to the serum concentration of women receiving daily low-dose aspirin therapy (60 to 81 mg). The control cotyledon was infused with an equivalent amount of normal saline solution. Two doses of angiotensin II, 1 x 10(-11.5) and 1 x 10(-10) moles, were injected as boluses into the chorionic arteries of each cotyledon. A 3 x 10(-7) mole dose of angiotensin II was also injected into the intervillous space. Statistical analysis was performed with analysis of variance, and results are expressed as mean pressure change in millimeters of mercury +/- SEM. RESULTS: Perfusion pressure response did not vary between cotyledons pretreated with acetylsalicylic acid and control cotyledons when 3 x 10(-7) moles of angiotensin II was injected into the intervillous space (8.0 +/- 1.9 mm Hg vs 9.8 +/- 1.6 mm Hg, p = 0.59). There were no differences between cotyledons in pressure response to 1 x 10(-11.5) moles of angiotensin II injected into the fetal circuit (5.9 +/- 0.8 mm Hg vs 6.7 +/- 0.9 mm Hg, p = 0.51). However, in the cotyledons pretreated with acetylsalicylic acid there was a decrease in the pressor response to 1 x 10(-10) moles of angiotensin II (14.1 +/- 1.4 mm Hg vs 21.5 +/- 3.3 mm Hg, p = 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Low-dose aspirin infused into the intervillous space decreases vasoconstriction elicited by angiotensin II in the fetoplacental compartment. This suggests that maternal low-dose aspirin therapy has effects in the fetoplacental circulation in addition to its effects in the maternal circulation.

Angiotensin II↗
PubMed1997

Perinatal hospice: a response to partial birth abortion for infants with congenital defects.

This article discusses decisions involving whether to terminate late-term pregnancies when fetal anomalies have been detected. Partial-birth abortion performed on fetuses with chromosomal abnormalities, while performed under the guise of reducing suffering, threatens the best interests of the mother and infant. An alternative for parents faced with the decision to terminate their pregnancy is perinatal hospice. Perinatal hospice recognizes the value of bringing these infants to term by treating them as beings conceived with a tangible future. This alternative is preferred because of post-termination psychological distress and because biblical teachings emphasize the dignity and worth of each fetus. Perinatal hospice supports parents through their grief when their infant dies and maximizes the opportunity for authentic mourning.

Abortion, Eugenic↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Extreme elevation of maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein associated with mosaic trisomy 8 in a liveborn.

Constitutional mosaic trisomy 8 has been associated with syndromic dysmorphology, corneal opacities, leukemias, and trophoblastic disease. However, abnormal maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (MSAFP) has not been reported in association with mosaic trisomy 8. Our case first presented for evaluation of an extremely elevated MSAFP with mild elevation of MShCG in an otherwise normal pregnancy: MSAFP 13.89 MoM, MShCG 3.57 MoM, and MSuE3 1.04 MoM. Fetal dysmorphism was limited to bilateral pyelectasis and a prominent third ventricle. Spontaneous labor at 38 weeks resulted in the birth of a 3,570-gram AGA male with APGARs 7(1)/8(5). The neonate had facial asymmetry, 5th finger clinodactyly, 2-3 toe syndactyly, undescended testicle, abnormal prepuce, and mild pyelectasis. CT scan revealed hypoplasia of the corpus callosum, while echocardiography demonstrated bicuspid aortic valve, and the neonatal karyotype (blood) returned 46,XY/47,XY+8. Evaluation at 3 months revealed more prominent facial asymmetry, plagiocephaly, plantar creases, descent of the testis, and mild developmental delay. Review of the literature does not include any previously reported maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein aberrations in mosaic trisomy 8.

Adult↗