(1/188) Pregnancy after atrial repair for transposition of the great arteries.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the risk of pregnancy in patients with transposition of the great arteries (TGA) who have undergone atrial repair. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis (1962-94) of 342 TGA patients who underwent atrial repair. Of 231 known late survivors, 48 were women over 18 years old who were interviewed about possible reproductive plans and previous pregnancies. As a control, comparison was made with data of 57 500 women (mean age 26 years) obtained from the Swiss Statistical Bank in Bern. RESULTS: Mean follow up was 13.7 years; 66% remained asymptomatic, 29% had mild to moderate cardiac symptoms, and 5% suffered from severe cardiac symptoms (New York Heart Association grade III-IV). Thirty six of the 48 women wished to bear children and, to date, there have been 10 live births, two spontaneous first trimester abortions, and one induced abortion at 16 weeks. During pregnancy there was one case of cardiac deterioration and two cases of pneumonia. There was no evidence of congenital heart disease in the children. CONCLUSIONS: In this relatively small series the completion of pregnancy in women with TGA who had undergone atrial repair and who had normal functional cardiac status was uncomplicated  (+info)

(2/188) Dystrophic calcification of the fetal myocardium.

Intramural cardiac masses were detected antenatally in three fetuses by echocardiography. The masses were initially thought to be rhabdomyomas. All three pregnancies were terminated and histology showed dystrophic calcification in all, with no evidence of tumour. Therefore, dystrophic calcification of the fetal myocardium may have a similar appearance to single or multiple rhabdomyomas. This should be considered when counselling parents after detection of masses in the fetal heart, particularly when considering the risk of associated tuberous sclerosis.  (+info)

(3/188) First-trimester ultrasound diagnosis of holoprosencephaly: three case reports.

We present three cases of fetal holoprosencephaly diagnosed by transabdominal and transvaginal ultrasound examinations at 10 and 13 weeks' gestation. The diagnosis was based on two sonographic criteria: first, the intracranial finding of a single ventricle with a cerebral mantle and no visible midline structures but fusion of the thalami and corpus striatum; and, second, facial abnormalities, including hypotelorism. The ultrasound findings were confirmed by embryoscopy before abortion in one case and by pathological examination after abortion in two cases. Chromosome study of the three fetuses showed trisomy 18, triploidy and mosaic 18p deletion and duplication.  (+info)

(4/188) Prenatal diagnosis of alobar holoprosencephaly at 10 weeks of gestation.

Alobar holoprosencephaly is an intracranial abnormality characterized by failure of proper cleavage of the prosencephalon, accompanied by incomplete midfacial development. The prenatal sonographic diagnosis of alobar holoprosencephaly was first described in 1984; however, there have been only two reports of alobar holoprosencephaly diagnosed in the first trimester. We report a case of alobar holoprosencephaly diagnosed at 10 weeks of gestation.  (+info)

(5/188) Sonographic features of fetal trisomy 18 at 13 and 14 weeks: four case reports.

Fetal trisomy 18 is the second most common multiple malformation syndrome. We present four cases of trisomy 18 with multiple sonographic abnormalities at 13 and 14 weeks of gestation. These cases demonstrated that fetal hand deformities can be a tell-tale sign of trisomy 18 with or without increased nuchal translucency at this gestation.  (+info)

(6/188) Immunoregulatory activity of decidua in spontaneous early pregnancy loss.

The present study aimed to address whether the immunoregulatory properties of the molecules secreted within decidua were altered in women suffering spontaneous miscarriage, compared with apparently normal fertile women. Unfractionated decidual cells from 22 women undergoing therapeutic pregnancy terminations and 25 women experiencing a sporadic spontaneous early pregnancy loss were isolated, cultured for 24 h and 72 h, and supernatants were collected. The effect of decidual supernatants on phytohaemagglutinin (PHA)-induced peripheral blood lymphocyte proliferation was investigated. Immunosuppressive activity was detected in 24 h cell culture supernatants from 91% of therapeutic abortion cases compared with only 64% of spontaneous abortion samples; 72 h supernatants from all of therapeutic abortion samples and 90% of spontaneous abortion cases suppressed lymphoproliferation. The remaining spontaneous abortion samples (36% of 24 h supernatants; 10% of 72 h supernatants) enhanced or had no effect on lymphocyte proliferation. Enhancement of lymphocyte proliferation was not observed in therapeutic abortion samples, and the association between stimulation of cell proliferation and spontaneous abortion was significant for 24 h decidual cell supernatants at 50% concentration (P = 0.02). These findings suggest that in a subgroup of women experiencing spontaneous early pregnancy loss, soluble factors within decidua display altered immune responses that may be implicated in the complex process of fetal rejection.  (+info)

(7/188) Evolution and long term outcome in cases with fetal diagnosis of congenital heart disease: Italian multicentre study. Fetal Cardiology Study Group of the Italian Society of Pediatric Cardiology.

OBJECTIVES: To analyse the evolution and outcome in utero and after birth of infants with a fetal diagnosis of congenital heart disease. DESIGN: Inclusion criteria were the fetal diagnosis of congenital heart disease, confirmed postnatally or postmortem, and a complete follow up in utero and after birth. SETTING: 20 centres operating prenatal echocardiographic screening. PATIENTS: 847 cases were included in the study. Gestational age at diagnosis ranged from 15-39 weeks; in 370 cases (43.7%) the diagnosis was made before 24 weeks' gestation. RESULTS: 245/847 cases (28.9%) were terminated during pregnancy, 227 following early diagnosis; 128/245 cases (52. 2%) had associated anomalies and 117/245 (47.8%) had serious congenital heart disease. Of the remaining 602 cases that continued the pregnancy, 72 (11.9%) died in utero, 259 (43%) died postnatally (83 after surgery or invasive procedures), and 271 infants (45%) survived and presently range in age from 18 months to 13 years old. The mortality rate was higher in cases with associated extracardiac or chromosomal anomalies (68% and 74% of cases continuing pregnancy, respectively), and in cases with heart failure and complex cardiac defects. CONCLUSIONS: The data confirm a relevant fetal and postnatal loss in cases with complex congenital heart disease, and major clinical use of prenatal diagnosis in the management of ductus dependent anomalies. Negative prognostic factors for the outcome were associated anomalies and heart failure.  (+info)

(8/188) Placental transfer of fentanyl in early human pregnancy and its detection in fetal brain.

We have investigated the transfer of fentanyl across the early human placenta in 38 women (8-14 weeks' gestation) undergoing termination of pregnancy. After administration of a bolus dose of fentanyl 2 micrograms kg-1 at induction of anaesthesia, maternal blood n = 38), placenta (n = 38), amniotic fluid (n = 38) and fetal brain (n = 7) samples were collected and assayed for fentanyl by radioimmunoassay. Fentanyl was detected in all placental and fetal brain samples but not in amniotic fluid. There was a rapid decrease in fentanyl concentrations in maternal serum after the bolus but placental concentrations had not started to decline 30 min later. There was no difference in placental drug concentrations at different gestational ages. These data suggest that there is rapid transfer of fentanyl to the fetus in early pregnancy and that the drug remains in fetal tissue for some time after the initial dose is given to the mother.  (+info)

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