Israel journal of medical sciences
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A 23-year-old pregnant woman with class III rheumatic heart disease, with mitral stenosis, underwent mitral valve replacement with cardiopulmonary bypass during the 32nd week of gestation. Fetal heart rate and uterine activity were recorded during the operation. ⋯ Problems associated with maternal extracorporeal circulation during pregnancy are discussed. Long-term effects on the fetus are presently unknown.
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The prevalence and causes of anemia were studied in 294 Druze children aged 10 months to six years. The hemoglobin level was less than 11.0 g/dl in 19%; none of these anemic children had folate deficiency. ⋯ Mean corpuscular hemoglobin and transferrin saturation were abnormal in greater than 90% of anemic children, whereas serum ferritin and total-iron-binding capacity were abnormal in only 70%. In view of its limited sensitivity, serum ferritin appears to be a less useful diagnostic aid in iron-deficiency anemia than other, less expensive laboratory methods.