Background: The aim of this study was to capture multifaceted clinical characteristics of congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection from diagnosis to treatment using a multidisciplinary approach including obstetrics, pediatrics, pathology, and otorhinolaryngology-head and neck surgery. Methods: This is a retrospective study including 30 consecutive cases of congenital CMV infection that were diagnosed at a single tertiary hospital located in Seoul, Korea from January 2009 to December 2020. Congenital CMV infection was defined as a positive result by polymerase chain reaction from urine, saliva or cerebrospinal fluid or positive CMV IgM from neonatal blood sampled within 3 weeks after birth. All cases were analyzed with respect to whole clinical characteristics from diagnosis to treatment of congenital CMV by a multidisciplinary approach including prenatal sonographic findings, maternal immune status regarding CMV infection, detailed placental pathology, neonatal clinical manifestation, auditory brainstem response test, and antiviral treatment (ganciclovir or valganciclovir). Long-term outcomes including developmental delay and hearing loss were also investigated. Results: The total number of births during the study period in our institution was 19,385, with the prevalence of congenital infection estimated to be 0.15%. Among 30 cases of congenital CMV, the median gestational age at delivery was 32.2 weeks [range, 22.6–40.0] and 66.7% of these infants were delivered preterm at less than 37 weeks. Suspected fetal growth restriction was the most common prenatal ultrasound finding (50%) followed by ventriculomegaly (17.9%) and abnormal placenta (17.9%), defined as thick placenta with calcification. No abnormal findings on ultrasound examination were observed in one-third of births. Maternal CMV serology tests were conducted in only 8 cases, and one case each of positive and equivocal IgM were found. The most common placental pathologic findings were chronic villitis (66.7%) and calcification (63.0%), whereas viral inclusions were identified in only 22.2%. The most common neonatal manifestations were jaundice (58.6%) followed by elevation of aspartate aminotransferase (55.2%) and thrombocytopenia (51.7%). After excluding cases for which long-term outcomes were unavailable due to death (n = 4) or subsequent follow up loss (n = 3), developmental delay was confirmed in 43.5% of infants (10/23), and hearing loss was confirmed in 42.9% (9/21) during the follow-up period. In our cohort, 56.7% (17/30) of neonates were treated for congenital CMV with ganciclovir or valganciclovir. Conclusion Our data show that prenatal findings including maternal serologic tests and ultrasound have limited ability to detect congenital CMV in Korea. Given that CMV is associated with high rates of developmental delay and hearing loss in infants, there is an urgent need to develop specific strategies for the definite diagnosis of congenital CMV infection during the perinatal period by a multidisciplinary approach to decrease the risks of neurologic impairment and hearing loss through early antiviral treatment.

Background: People are generally considered overweight and obese if their body mass index (BMI) is above 25 kg/m 2 and 30.0 kg/m 2 , respectively. The World Health Organization proposed stricter criteria for Asians (≥ 23 kg/m2 : overweight, ≥ 25 kg/m2 : obese). We aimed to verify whether this criteria could predict adverse pregnancy outcomes in Korean women. Methods: We included 7,547 Korean women from 12 institutions enrolled between June 2016 and October 2018. Women with no pre-pregnancy BMI data, not Korean, or lost to followup were excluded, leaving 6,331. The subjects were categorized into underweight, normal, overweight, class I obesity, and class II/III obesity based on a pre-pregnancy BMI of < 18.5, 18.5–22.9, 23.0–24.9, 25.0–29.9, and ≥ 30.0 kg/m2 , respectively. Results: Overall, 13.4%, 63.0%, 11.8%, 9.1%, and 2.6% of women were underweight, normal, and overweight and had class I obesity and class II/III obesity, respectively. In the multivariable analysis adjusted for maternal age, a higher BMI significantly increased the risk of preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, preterm delivery caused by maternal-fetal indications, cesarean section, large for gestational age, and neonatal intensive care unit admission. Conclusion Adverse pregnancy outcomes started to increase in those with a pre-pregnancy BMI ≥ 23.0 kg/m2 after adjusting for maternal age. The modified obesity criteria could help predict adverse pregnancy outcomes in Koreans.

OBJECTIVE: This study had two main objectives: to compare current suicide rates in OECD countries among 10–19-year-olds and to identify patterns of suicide rates based on age, gender and time. Furthermore we investigated the main dimensions that contributed to the variation in child and adolescent suicide rates across countries. METHODS: We combined the WHO mortality data and the population data released by OECD to calculate the suicide rates in 29 OECD countries. A self-organizing map (SOM), k-means clustering analysis, and multi-dimensional scaling were used to classify countries based on similarities in suicide rate structure and to identify the important dimensions accounting for differences among groups. RESULTS: We identified significant differences in suicide rates depending on age, sex, country, and time period. Late adolescence and male gender were universal risk factors for suicide, and we observed a general trend of declining suicide rates in OECD countries. The SOM analysis yielded eight types of countries. Most countries showed gender gaps in suicide rates of similar magnitudes; however, there were outliers in which the gender gap was particularly large or small. CONCLUSION: Significant variation exists with respect to suicide rates and their associated gender gaps in OECD countries.
Adolescent ; Child ; Humans ; Male ; Mortality ; Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development* ; Risk Factors ; Suicide*

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the neonatal outcome according to the gestational age at delivery and to determine the optimal timing for delivery in uncomplicated monochorionic and dichorionic twin pregnancies. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study of women with uncomplicated twin pregnancies delivered at or beyond 35 weeks of gestation from 1995 to 2013. The primary outcome was neonatal composite morbidity, which was defined as when either one or both twins have one or more of the followings: fetal death after 35 weeks gestation, admission to neonatal intensive care unit, mechanical ventilator requirement, respiratory distress syndrome and neonatal death. To determine the optimal gestational age for delivery according to chorionicity, we compared the neonatal composite morbidity rate between women who delivered and women who remained undelivered at each gestational week in both monochorionic and dichorionic twin pregnancies. RESULTS: A total of 697 twin pregnancies were included (171 monochorionic and 526 dichorionic twins). The neonatal composite morbidity rate significantly decreased with advancing gestational age at delivery and its nadir was observed at 38 and > or =39 weeks of gestation in monochorionic and dichorionic twins, respectively. However, the composite morbidity rate did not differ between women who delivered and women who remained undelivered > or =36 and > or =37 weeks in monochorionic and dichorionic twins, respectively. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that the optimal gestational age for delivery was at > or =36 and > or =37 weeks in uncomplicated monochorionic and dichorionic twin pregnancies, respectively.
Chorion* ; Cohort Studies ; Female ; Fetal Death ; Gestational Age* ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Intensive Care, Neonatal ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy, Twin* ; Retrospective Studies ; Twins* ; Ventilators, Mechanical

Congenital mesoblastic nephroma is a rare renal tumor that is diagnosed during pregnancy and is associated with polyhydramnios, prematurity, and neonatal hypertension. Differential diagnoses include Wilms tumor, adrenal neuroblastoma, and other abdominal tumors. We report a case of congenital mesoblastic nephroma detected by prenatal ultrasonography as a large fetal renal mass with polyhydramnios at 32 weeks of gestation. Ultrasonography showed a 6x6-cm complex, solid, hyperechoic, round mass in the right kidney. At 35 weeks of gestation, the patient was admitted with preterm premature rupture of membranes and the baby was delivered vaginally. Postnatal ultrasonography and computed tomography showed a heterogeneous solid mass on the right kidney. At the end of the first week of life, a right nephrectomy was performed and subsequent pathological examination confirmed a cellular variant of congenital mesoblastic nephroma with a high mitotic count. Postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy was administered. The newborn was discharged in good condition.
Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Drug Therapy ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Infant, Newborn ; Kidney ; Membranes ; Nephrectomy ; Nephroma, Mesoblastic* ; Neuroblastoma ; Polyhydramnios ; Pregnancy ; Prenatal Diagnosis* ; Rupture ; Ultrasonography ; Ultrasonography, Prenatal ; Wilms Tumor

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare the risk factors associated with mild/moderate meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS) with those associated with severe in meconium-stained term neonates. METHODS: Consecutive singleton term neonates (n=671) with meconium staining at birth from all deliveries (n=14,666) in our institution from January 2006 to December 2012 were included. Both maternal and neonatal variables were examined. Among the study population, for women who underwent the trial of labor (n=644), variables associated with labor were also examined. These variables were compared between the mild/moderate MAS group, the severe MAS group, and the MAS-absent group. RESULTS: MAS developed in 10.6% (71/671) of neonates with meconium staining at birth. Among the neonates with MAS, 81.7% had mild MAS, 5.6% had moderate MAS, and 12.7% had severe MAS. The presence of minimal variability was significantly increased in both the mild/moderate and the severe MAS groups. The frequencies of nulliparity, fetal tachycardia, and intrapartum fever were significantly increased in the mild/moderate MAS group, but not in the severe MAS group. While a longer duration of the second stage of labor was significantly associated with mild/moderate MAS, severe MAS was associated with a shorter duration of the second stage. Notably, low mean cord pH (7.165 [6.850-7.375]) was significantly associated with mild/moderate MAS, but not with severe MAS (7.220 [7.021-7.407]) compared with the absence of MAS (7.268 [7.265-7.271]). CONCLUSION: Our data suggest the development of severe MAS is not simply a linear extension of the same risk factors driving mild/moderate MAS.
Female ; Fever ; Humans ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Newborn* ; Meconium ; Meconium Aspiration Syndrome* ; Parity ; Parturition ; Risk Factors* ; Tachycardia ; Trial of Labor

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical characteristics of fetal hydrops and to find the antenatal ultrasound findings predictive of adverse perinatal outcome. METHODS: This is a retrospective study of 42 women with fetal hydrops who delivered in a tertiary-referral center from 2005 to 2013. Fetal hydrops was defined as the presence of fluid collection in > or =2 body cavities: ascites, pleural effusion, pericardial effusion, and skin edema. Predictor variables recorded included: maternal characteristics, gestational age at diagnosis, ultrasound findings, and identifiable causes. Primary outcome variables analyzed were fetal death and neonatal death. RESULTS: The mean gestational age at diagnosis was 29.3+/-5.4 weeks (range, 18 to 39 weeks). The most common identifiable causes were cardiac abnormality (10), followed by syndrome (4), aneuploidy (3), congenital infection (3), twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (3), non-cardiac anormaly (2), chorioangioma (2), inborn errors of metabolism (1), and immune hydrops by anti-E antibody isoimmunization (1). Thirteen cases had no definite identifiable causes. Three women elected termination of pregnancy. Fetal death occurred in 4 cases. Among the 35 live-born babies, only 16 survived (54.0% neonatal mortality rate). Fetal death and neonatal mortality rate was not significantly associated with Doppler velocimetry indices or location of fluid collection, but increasing numbers of fluid collection site was significantly associated with a higher risk of neonatal death. CONCLUSION: The incidence of fetal hydrops in our retrospective study was 24.4 per 10,000 deliveries and the perinatal mortality rate was 61.9% (26/42). The number of fluid collection sites was the significant antenatal risk factor to predict neonatal death.
Aneuploidy ; Ascites ; Diagnosis ; Edema ; Female ; Fetal Death ; Fetofetal Transfusion ; Gestational Age ; Hemangioma ; Humans ; Hydrops Fetalis* ; Incidence ; Infant ; Infant Mortality ; Metabolism, Inborn Errors ; Pericardial Effusion ; Perinatal Mortality ; Pleural Effusion ; Pregnancy ; Retrospective Studies ; Rheology ; Risk Factors ; Skin ; Ultrasonography

BACKGROUND: Chronic placental inflammation, such as villitis of unknown etiology (VUE) and chronic chorioamnionitis (CCA), is considered a placental manifestation of maternal anti-fetal rejection. The aim of this study is to investigate its frequency in twin pregnancies compared to singleton pregnancies. METHODS: Three hundred twin placentas and 1,270 singleton placentas were consecutively collected at a tertiary medical center in Seoul, Republic of Korea from 2009 to 2012. Hematoxylin and eosin sections of tissue samples (full-thickness placental disc and chorioamniotic membranes) were reviewed. RESULTS: Non-basal VUE was more frequent in twin placentas than in singleton placentas (6.0% vs 3.2%, p < .05). In preterm birth, CCA was found less frequently in twin placentas than in singleton placentas (9.6% vs 14.8%, p < .05), reaching its peak at an earlier gestational age in twin placentas (29-32 weeks) than in singleton placentas (33-36 weeks). CCA was more frequent in twin pregnancies with babies of a different sex than with those with the same sex (13.8% vs 6.9%, p=.052). Separate dichorionic diamniotic twin placentas were affected by chronic deciduitis more frequently than singleton placentas (16.9% vs 9.7%, p<.05). CONCLUSIONS: The higher frequency of non-basal VUE in twin placentas and of CCA in twin placentas with different fetal sex supports the hypothesis that the underlying pathophysiological mechanism is maternal anti-fetal rejection related to increased fetal antigens in twin pregnancies. The peak of CCA at an earlier gestational age in twin placentas than in singleton placentas suggests that CCA is influenced by placental maturation.
Chorioamnionitis ; Eosine Yellowish-(YS) ; Female ; Gestational Age ; Hematoxylin ; Humans ; Inflammation* ; Placenta ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy, Twin* ; Premature Birth ; Republic of Korea ; Seoul ; Twins*

Primary lymphoma of the small intestine is commonly diagnosed after serious complications, such as bowel perforation and bleeding. It results from vague symptoms and the lack of routine screening programs due to low prevalence. Ileal intubation can be used for screening and diagnosis of various small intestinal diseases. However, the value of routine terminal ileum intubation during colonoscopy remains controversial because of its low diagnostic yield. In Korea, there has been no report of asymptomatic primary lymphoma of the small intestine discovered through ileal intubation during colonoscopy. Thus, we report a case of asymptomatic primary lymphoma of the small intestine diagnosed incidentally through terminal ileum intubation during screening colonoscopy, and we review the literature on small intestinal lymphoma and the value of routine ileal intubation.
Colonoscopy* ; Diagnosis ; Endoscopy ; Hemorrhage ; Ileum ; Intestinal Diseases ; Intestine, Small ; Intubation* ; Korea ; Lymphoma* ; Mass Screening* ; Prevalence

We report a case of Cushing syndrome secondary to adrenal adenoma presenting with hypertension and oligohydramnios during pregnancy. The tumor was confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging at 28 week 3 day weeks of pregnancy and was removed surgically at 29 week 1 day weeks of gestation. After surgery, hypertension subsided and amniotic fluid volume returned to normal range. The gravid woman subsequently delivered a healthy infant at term.
Adenoma ; Adrenalectomy ; Adrenocortical Adenoma* ; Amniotic Fluid ; Cushing Syndrome* ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Oligohydramnios ; Pregnancy* ; Reference Values