Dr. Chapa’s Clinical Pearls‪.‬ Dr. Chapa’s Clinical Pearls

Hematuria is subdivided into visible (gross) hematuria and microhematuria. Most cases of microhematuria are thankfully benign, but in some patients it may be a red flag (no pun intended) for something more ominous. What defines hematuria? Do all patients need urological referral? In this session, we will summarize and highlight one of the ABOG MOC articles (Jan 2022) which helps clear up the mystery of Hematuria.

The adolescent years are critical for peak bone mass acquisition, a major determinant of future bone health. Adolescence is also the time of initiation of sexual activity, and improved contraceptive use has contributed to the decline of unintended teen pregnancies. In this episode, we will review the effect of various contraceptive agents on bone health. This is an ABOG MOC article from January 2022 (Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology section).

Globally, more than 200 million infants have been born since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been unclear whether fetal exposure to maternal SARS-CoV2 infection can adversely affect the child’s neurodevelopmental progress. Does having Covid during pregnancy affect the child’s neurodevelopment? The answer is intriguing! This is a tale of a pandemic, psychosocial stress response, and epigenetic changes. (Data summary from JAMA Pediatrics; Jan 2022).

In the ACOG Practice Bulletin #106, which was released in 2009, the use of maternal supplemental oxygen for fetal heart rate tracing correction is mentioned. In that original bulletin, it states “despite inadequate data to support its use” consideration can be given to supplemental maternal oxygen for category II or III fetal heart rate tracings. However, within the last 7 years, an ever-growing body of evidence has proven that supplemental oxygen for fetal heart rate pattern abnormalities is not only ineffective but may actually be harmful to the premature fetus. Now, as of January 2022, we now have new guidance on this. Find out how and why the ACOG has now changed its original opinion.

Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy are a large contributor to maternal mortality. Maternal mortality rates for chronic hypertension in pregnancy have increased 15-fold over the last 4 decades! The California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative (CMQCC) has been a leading authority in the Pregnancy Hypertensive space. In the session, we will review BIG updates from the CMQCC. Should we aggressively treat chronic hypertension in pregnancy? What about treating nonsevere gestational hypertension? Are you familiar with the new Cardiology subspecialty of “Cardio- Obstetrics“? Let’s cover all this information… NOW!

Concerns about a possible association between COVID-19 vaccination and abnormal menstrual cycles may lead to vaccine hesitancy. Social media sites have claimed that cycles are affected, although temporarily, after vaccination. Is this true? In the session, we will summarize a soon to be released publication out of Obstetrics and Gynecology which helps clarify this issue. We will also highlight a press release from January 6, 2022 from a major news outlet which seemingly appears to distort those results.