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Presented is the case of a triplet pregnancy with conjoined twins diagnosed antenatally with sonography. Prenatal diagnosis has the potential to improve outcome for the normal infant.
Multifetal gestation is associated with increased frequency of maternal complications and higher perinatal morbidity and mortality. The need for contemporary data on the outcome of multifetal gestations is further underscored when selective reduction is considered. The present study details the obstetric management, neonatal outcome, and follow-up data of 24 triplet, five quadruplet, and one quintuplet pregnancies delivered in a perinatal center. The early neonatal mortality rate was 31.6, the late neonatal mortality rate was 21, and the perinatal mortality rate was 51.5. Survival to discharge was 93%. The incidence of respiratory distress syndrome was 43%, bronchopulmonary dysplasia 6%, retinopathy of prematurity 3%, intraventricular hemorrhage 4%, and cerebral palsy 2%. Follow-up from 1 to 10 years shows that only one child is moderately handicapped, whereas 99% have no significant medical problem. Early diagnosis by ultrasonography, meticulous antenatal care, early hospitalization, delivery by cesarean section, and on-site availability of a neonatologist for each baby at the time of delivery are the probable major determinants of improved outcome.
A triplet gestation was treated with Motrin for oral tocolysis. A significant reduction of amniotic fluid was observed, but this was corrected by stopping the drug. A cause-and-effect relationship was established by restarting the Motrin and observing the same development of oligohydramnios, which again returned to normal with discontinuation of the drug.
A triplet pregnancy occurred in a 51-year-old menopausal women after oocyte donation. Three of the four transferred embryos implanted, and the patient elected to carry the pregnancy. She delivered three viable infants weighing between 1500 and 2100 gm at 33 weeks' gestation by cesarean section.
Female monozygotic triplets all developed Crohn's disease within a period of 11 mo. The monozygosity was demonstrated by analysis of 24 genetic markers of different chromosomal localization. Crohn's disease was diagnosed using clinical, radiologic, and endoscopic findings. Histologic evaluation of bowel tissue was consistent with Crohn's disease. All 3 patients had colon involvement; the terminal ileum appeared normal. The patient in whom Crohn's disease was first diagnosed had the severest course. Our observations support the role of a genetic influence in the manifestation of Crohn's disease. Nevertheless, environmental factors or microorganisms, or both, have to be taken into account, perhaps as factors promoting the outbreak of Crohn's disease.
Due to the increased availability of infertility treatment, multiple pregnancies, with various resulting complications have become more common. A woman in the 19th week of a triplet pregnancy came to the hospital after the miscarriage of one of the fetuses at home. In keeping with our philosophy of minimal intervention in childbirth, we treated the woman conservatively. After confirming that the remaining two fetuses were in good condition, the woman was released home under ambulatory observation, with no antibiotics or tocolytic drugs. No further complications developed, and the woman gave birth in her 31st week to healthy twin girls 82 days later. The successful outcome of this case demonstrates that non-interventional, conservative methods could be a feasible alternative to invasive intervention. We hope that our case will encourage more physicians to try out and report noninterventional methods, so that enough information could be gathered to help make correct management decisions in the future.
Data from 14 triplet and 2 quadruplet pregnancies (50 infants) during the period 1974-1988 were analysed. The perinatal mortality rate was only 6%, despite a preterm delivery rate of 88%. Preterm delivery was more common in young (less than or equal to 29 years) multiparous women. Perinatal complications were, as expected, strongly associated with immaturity. Respiratory problems of the infants occurred significantly more often among women delivered by elective Cesarean section than among those planned for vaginal delivery, but the mean gestational duration was 1 week longer in the latter group. Few problems arise in infants weighing 2000 g or more, or at delivery at 34 weeks or later, and under optimal conditions it would therefore seem safe to allow these women to give birth vaginally. Nor did birth order affect the outcome for infants born vaginally. It is recommended that quadruplets be delivered by Cesarean section because of the difficulty of ensuring satisfactory fetal surveillance in labor.
This article is a case report of a spontaneous vaginal delivery of live triplets, which included conjoined twins joined at the buttocks. The birth was conducted by an experienced midwife in a rural maternity in the Anambra State of Nigeria. The case illustrates the difficulties faced by rural Nigerian midwives when patients need referral to larger hospitals. There is a scarcity of diagnostic equipment, medical back-up, and the transportation that could facilitate an effective referral network. In addition, patients are reluctant to leave their home villages to give birth in a far-away hospital. For these reasons, many difficult births take place in rural maternity centers. The successful outcome of this high-risk delivery demonstrates the skill of the local Nigerian midwife, who is frequently faced with unusual complications of childbirth, ones that she must resolve herself.
In an unusual set of triplets, two monozygous girls presented with CHARGE association. Dissimilar surgical management of identical cardiovascular lesions has resulted in a disparate effect on their clinical state. Their case poses interesting questions concerning how CHARGE association may develop.
Hyperreactio luteinalis is a non-neoplastic tumor-like ovarian lesion associated with pregnancy. Most patients are asymptomatic, with the ovarian enlargement being incidentally discovered at the time of cesarean section. It can simulate a neoplasm on clinical, gross and sometimes microscopic examination. We report a case of hyperreactio luteinalis in a patient, who was diagnosed as having polycystic ovary disease before conceiving a triplet pregnancy after three treatment cycles of human menopausal gonadotropin-human chorionic gonadotropin therapy, and discuss its pathogenesis.
OBJECTIVE: To examine psychosocial and obstetric outcomes at 1 year postpartum in first-time mothers who conceived after IVF. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: University medical center in the United Kingdom. PATIENT(S): One hundred twenty-nine mothers with a single naturally conceived birth, 95 mothers with a single IVF birth, and 36 mothers with a twin or triplet IVF birth. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): General Health Questionnaire and Parenting Stress Index. RESULT(S): Twenty-two percent of mothers of multiples had Parenting Stress Index scores indicating severe parenting stress, compared with 5% of mothers of IVF singletons (odds ratio, 5.14 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.55-16.99]) and 9% of mothers of naturally conceived singletons (odds ratio, 2.76 [95% CI, 1.03-7.4]). Mothers of multiple children conceived by IVF did not have poorer mental health but were less likely to be in paid employment at follow-up than were mothers of singletons conceived by IVF (odds ratio, 0.3 [95% CI, 0.13-0.67]) or naturally (odds ratio, 0.27 [95% CI, 0.12-0.59]). Multiple births were more premature, had lower birth weights, and had more medical complications. They were more likely to have been admitted to special care than were singletons conceived by IVF (odds ratio, 14.6 [95% CI, 5.1-42.0)] or those conceived naturally (odds ratio, 10.59 [95% CI, 3.67-30.57]) CONCLUSION(S): Clinicians should ensure that couples making decisions about embryo transfer have considered the potential psychosocial burden of a multiple birth.
OBJECTIVE: To report on a patient with a monochorionic triamnionic triplet pregnancy after IVF with donor oocytes. DESIGN: Case report. SETTING: Academic tertiary care hospital. PATIENT(S): A 42-year-old woman who underwent IVF with donor oocytes. INTERVENTION(S): After failed IVF attempts, the patient chose to undergo treatment with donor oocytes. Her 23-year-old oocyte donor underwent standard controlled ovarian hyperstimulation. Retrieved oocytes were fertilized in vitro, and two embryos were transferred at the blastocyst stage. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Intrauterine pregnancy with single gestational sac and three fetal poles with cardiac activity. RESULT(S): After extensive counseling with perinatologists about pregnancy complications, the patient elected to terminate at 10 weeks of gestation. CONCLUSION(S): Several processes have been suggested to explain the increase in monozygotic twinning after IVF. These factors include advanced maternal age, superovulation, manipulation of the zona pellucida, and prolonged culture. It is possible that other factors may also play a role, especially in high-order monozygotic multiple pregnancies. All patients should be informed of the potential risk of a high-order multiple pregnancy after IVF, even when only one or two embryos are transferred.
Over the last 180 years, several theories concerning the origin of hydranencephaly have been proposed with an emphasis on infectious, aplastic, and vascular etiologies. In this report, we present a case of triplets with fetofetal transfusion syndrome of which 2 fetuses (1 and 2) developed almost similar hydranencephaly, whereas the third exhibited the features of a fetus papyraceus (3). In the monochorial triamniotic placenta, multiple arteriovenous anastomoses were detected, representing a probable route for the transmission of thrombi originating from fetus 3 causing visceral lesions in fetus 2. Hydranencephaly was histologically characterized by necrosis, macrophage invasion, and endothelial proliferation. In addition, polymicrogyria was seen in fetuses 1 and 2. The combination of multiple visceral thromboembolic events and the death of fetus 3 approximately in the 11th week of gestation suggested a vascular thrombotic pathogenesis of hydranencephaly. Polymicrogyria can be considered as postmigratory laminar necrosis. Our findings contribute to the pathogenetic understanding of combined hydranencephaly and polymicrogyria.
A case is reported in which fetal monitoring during vaginal delivery of triplets was performed with the MT 430 actocardiotocograph. This method provides optimal monitoring of multiple pregnancies because the fetal heart rate tracings of three fetuses, together with recordings of fetal movements and uterine contractions, can be visualized on one display.
OBJECTIVE: We evaluated an alternative approach to the management of triplet gestations that did not include home uterine monitoring, prophylactic tocolysis, or routine antepartum hospitalization. STUDY DESIGN: Fifteen patients were managed over a 42-month period by an antepartum protocol that emphasized patient education regarding signs and symptoms of preterm labor, weekly prenatal visits after 24 weeks' gestation with cervical examination, and increased rest in an outpatient setting. Tocolytic therapy was only used for regular uterine contractions when cervical change was documented. RESULTS: Nine of 15 (60%) patients with management in this uniform manner were delivered at > or = 35 weeks' gestation, and six patients (40%) completed 37 weeks of pregnancy. Only five patients (33%) received tocolytic therapy. The mean birth weight was 1957 +/- 488 gm, and only 19 of 45 neonates (42%) were admitted to the intensive care nursery. CONCLUSION: This management scheme was effective in reducing preterm delivery and thereby optimizing perinatal outcome.
In a patient with polycystic ovarian disease, low-dose intravenous pulsatile gonadotropin-releasing hormone (5 mcg every hour) and no exogenous human chorionic gonadotropin induced multiple follicular development and elevated estrogen levels and resulted in a triplet pregnancy. Patients with polycystic ovarian disease may have a higher risk of complications and should be monitored more closely during ovulation induction with pulsatile gonadotropin-releasing hormone.
To our knowledge, this represents the first case of a laparoscopically treated triplet EP and the first time that a double EP in the same tube was treated conservatively (with preservation of the tube). Multiple EPs may be more common than currently thought, and our report offers an alternative explanation for at least some cases of persistent EP after conservative surgical therapy. Finally, given the substantial cost savings and reduced postoperative recovery time associated with operative laparoscopy, when the patient is stable and the surgeon experienced, the laparoscopic approach should be tried, regardless of the number of EPs or their size.
Reported is the first triplet gestation following oocyte donation to an agonadal woman. The transfer of five ova resulted in implantation of all five, with continued embryonic development in three. Pregnancy support was provided by exogenously administered oral E2 and intramuscular P for 100 days, at which time placental hormone production solely maintained the gestations.