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P Van Lieferinghen

Publications and source records attributed to P Van Lieferinghen.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

Intra-uterine exchange transfusion under ultrasound guidance.

Thirty intra-uterine exchange transfusions (I.U.E.T.) under ultrasound guidance were performed on 15 pregnancies in 14 severely Rh-sensitized women. Our technique and a new method of catheterization of the umbilical cord are described. I.U.E.T. were commenced at 19-34 gestational weeks and repeated up to 5 times at 15 to 60 days intervals. The lowest pretransfusion fetal hemoglobin was 3 milligrams at 25 weeks. All the hydrops (4 cases) reversed a few days after the first procedure. The survival rate is 50% for hydropic fetuses and 66.6% for all cases. This technique avoids fetal hypervolemia and also too repetitive procedures by quick renewal of red cells. Catheterization offers a simple and safe access to the umbilical vein even with important fetal movements.

Blood Transfusion, Intrauterine↗

[Case report: electroconvulsive therapy during pregnancy].

The treatment for psychiatric disorders in pregnancy remains difficult to implement. We report the case of a 28-year-old woman, 20 weeks pregnant when admitted in our psychiatric department. She presented severe depressive disorder, associated with agitation, and psychotic symptoms as delusion and hallucinations occurred. The patient had a history of recurrent mood disorders dating back to eight years before the current admission, including some atypical episodes (psychotic symptoms only), and alternating with free periods without any trouble. A non-specific personality disorder is also probably present. We first used antidepressant (clomipramine) and sedative phenothiazine drugs. Because of the lack of therapeutic efficacy, three weeks later we tried another pharmacologic prescription, that also failed to improve the patient' status. It was hence decided to proceed with electroconvulsive therapy. We describe here the management of the courses, especially the careful monitoring and the anesthetic features we employed, among which endotracheal intubation, oxygen supply, real-time ultrasonography, and recording uterine contractions and fetal heart rate. All theses measures were applied within a surgical-obstetrical theatre. Nine bifrontal courses were performed in five weeks. They rapidly and completely improved the psychiatric symptoms. No sign of fetal neither maternal bad tolerance occurred. While the patient had been authorized to leave hospital, in 34th weeks amenorrhea a routine ultrasonographic examination discovered worrying fetal ascites signs. After the emergency caesarean delivery, the male newborn child undergone immediately surgical treatment for vascular meconium peritonitis, but died nine days later with metabolic post-surgical troubles. This fatal outcome after electroconvulsive therapy leads us to discuss its possible involvement, and in a more general way the safety and place of this treatment in pregnancy psychiatric disorders. They remain critical situations in which therapeutic methods should be rapidly decided. The authors wish others practitioners to bring new case-reports in order to assess the ECT safety-use during pregnancy.

Adult↗