Dr. Chapa’s OBGYN Clinical Pearls

A great podcast topic recommendation/suggestion: anticoagulation bridge therapy, and patients undergoing gynecological surgery. More to come…

In January 2022, the American Heart Association conducted a study and concluded that labetalol may be the best antihypertensive medication antepartum. However, the ACOG has not endorsed one antihypertensive medication over the other. But what about Postpartum? Is labetalol the best to prevent postpartum hypertensive readmissions? In this episode we will review a new publication being released Octo...

This message is for Dr. Rob in Northern California preparing for his OBGYN oral boards. Rob, thank you for your voice memo on the app! Great question and absolutely fantastic clinical insights. With that kind of clinical inquiry and drive, I am sure you will ACE your upcoming OB/GYN oral boards. Dr. Rob’s question is which progesterone would be best for treatment of abnormal uterine bleeding: a pr...

Current ACOG/SMFM/CDC guidelines for the prevention of Group B Strep neonatal infection are aimed at prevention of early onset GBS neonatal disease. But late onset infections still occur worldwide and are devastating for the newborn. This is why there is a new Group B Strep (GBS6) vaccine in the pipeline! On September 22, 2022 the FDA granted this vaccine “Breakthrough Therapy designation”. In thi...

Acetaminophen (Paracetamol) is the most common medication used in pregnancy. For several years now, observational studies have raised concern for use of this common OTC medication in pregnancy and autism spectrum disorder/attention deficit disorder in children. Does acetaminophen cause these neurodevelopmental disorders? In this session we will highlight 3 recent publications that have gained nati...

There is a current trend advocating for women to do complete “hormone panels” for wellness. There is also persistent confusion surrounding the use of “bioidentical hormones” stemming mainly from the vast options of OTC and compounded “natural” hormone supplements. For women, compounded bioidentical hormones (cBHT) mainly takes the form of testosterone supplements/pellets. With decades of use of th...

Maternal mortality in the United States is among the highest of all industrialized nations. Shockingly, the top cause of obstetric death no longer belongs to pregnancy related factors; homicide is the most common cause of pregnancy associated death. And suicide is not far behind. In this episode we will review a new publication from the ACOG reviewing staggering statistics on pregnancy associated...

Neonatal herpes infection can be devastating to the newborn. For patients with a history of known genital herpes, daily suppression beginning at 36 weeks until delivery has been the standard for over 2 decades. For the HSV2 negative pregnant patient with a HSV2 positive partner, is PREP an option? In this session, we were review management of the HSV2 discordant couple during pregnancy.

Gentian Violet has been used for over a century for a variety of conditions including vaginal candidiasis. Does it work? More importantly… is it safe? In this session we will review the medical history, current use of, and safety profile of Gentian Violet. We will discuss ACOG’s stance on ordering vaginal medications WITHOUT an examination and we will also cover the most recent antifungal medicati...

Progesterone has long been hoped to be a remedy for 1st trimester pregnancy loss. Does progesterone help reduce miscarriage risk? The data is ever evolving. In this session we will review 2 landmark studies that helped answer this question (PROMISE, PRISM). We will also cover a 2020 Cochran systematic review that helped change the 2021 NICE practice guidelines on the subject. Lastly, we will also...

Oh, the twisted love story of progesterone and pre-term birth! Ever since the Meis trial in 2003, we have been fascinated with the use of progesterone as a possible cure-all of all things preterm birth. But the data keeps piling in, with results just contrary to that. In this episode we will review the publication history of progesterone and it’s fight against PTB. We will also highlight a new pub...

In 1949, Priscilla White published her landmark study on diabetes in pregnancy, launching the “White Classification”. This has been a staple of pre-pregnancy diabetes nomenclature since that time. However, despite its historical role in obstetrics, is this scale still relevant? In this episode we will review the history, definitions of, and proposed alternative nomenclature to the traditional Whit...

Epilepsy/seizure disorders disproportionately affects women of reproductive age over men. The influence of sex hormones on seizure prevalence is well documented. As women’s healthcare providers, it’s vital for us to understand the influence of seizure disorders on women’s overall care. In this session, we will review important aspects regarding contraception and review the data on pregnancy outcom...

There are so many things to go over with our pregnant patients especially at their initial intake visit. However, one thing that should not be left off that discussion list includes food items to avoid! Listeriosis during pregnancy can be devastating for the fetus. Are you familiar with the work up and CDC recommended treatment for this condition? In this episode we will present an easy to remembe...

I’ll let this episode title speak for itself… LOL. Hope this makes you smile.

Endometriosis is a devastating condition. Once thought to have its impact only during reproductive age, endometriosis has been linked to an increased risk of stroke later in life. Any new medication which shows safety and efficacy in menstrual pain reduction is welcome in this space. In this session we will review a new FDA approval of an existing medication in the battle against endometriosis. (S...

Yesterday, 08/01/2022, we released a podcast on “The 22 Week Birth”. As a follow-up to this, and in response to 5 separate questions (all related to the use of magnesium sulfate for fetal neuroprotection) from podcast members, we decided to get this episode out! While we all understand the upper limit for magnesium sulfate for CNS protection to be 32 weeks and 0 days, is magnesium sulfate a consid...

Over the last several years, the “limit of viability” for neonates has decreased dramatically. The new “lower limit” of neonatal viability can now be considered to be as early as 22 gestational weeks. But there’s a lot more to that statement! In this session, we will review the latest data on neonatal survival in the Periviable interval. We will highlight and summarize a new publication from the L...

Polyhydramnios affects from 0.2 to 2% of all pregnancies. Which is preferred for diagnosis, MVP or AFI? Is amnioreduction an effective intervention? When is indomethacin indicated? In the session we will dive into the issue of polyhydramnios, its workup, and delivery implications.

One of the most common techniques to assess fetal status intrapartum is the fetal scalp stimulation test. First proposed in 1936, its incorporation in modern obstetric practice is still evident. However, there are some common misapplications and misunderstandings of this intervention. Does fetal scalp stimulation help resolve a fetal deceleration? Or could it be potentially harmful? In this podcas...

In this session, we will continue our brief summary of the NAMS 2022 clinical update on hormone therapy. Is hormone therapy allowed in patients with known BRCA genetic mutations? Is Bazedoxifene safe? What about vaginal estrogen therapy? We will answer these questions and more in this session.

Medical information moves fast. We know a lot more about risks and benefits of hormone therapy since the impactful WHI study was first released. In this session we will review important new concepts from the NAMS Hormone Therapy update just released Summer of 2022. Is it safe to continue hormone therapy beyond the age of 65? Is “lowest dose for shortest duration” still a valid concept? We will tac...

For several years, data has validated the value of water immersion during labor (1st stage). However, when it comes to the 2nd stage of labor, the AAP and the ACOG are unified in their positions which is at odds with the ACNM. But what does the new data support? In this session we will cover a new systematic review and meta-analysis from BMJ Open which was published July 2022. Let’s set the record...

Sleep disruption and poor sleep quality are not unusual during pregnancy. That’s obvious! What’s not so obvious is whether a common over-the-counter sleep agent, melatonin, is safe to use during pregnancy or not. While traditionally, options like diphenhydramine and doxylamine have been used as sleep aids during pregnancy, up to 4% of women (reportedly) use this over-the-counter supplement during...

Lots of practical clinical pearls in this episode! “Reverse sequence testing” for syphilis has largely taken over the traditional testing algorithm. Traditionally, non-Treponemal tests (RPR, VDRL) were done first with a reflex to a Treponema specific test if that was positive (MHATP). But this is now considered the antiquated technique. Reverse sequence testing has the advantage of potentially ide...