Quantitative Analysis of Cardiac Function in Non-Immunological Hydrops fetalis

Abstract

The present study was designed to quantitatively evaluate fetal cardiac dysfunction in fetal congestive heart failure associated with cardiogenic hydrops fetalis. Thirty-seven cases of non-immunological hydrops fetalis and/or fetal heart disease were assigned to four groups: (1) hydrops fetalis with structural heart disease; (2) hydrops fetalis without heart disease; (3) structural heart diseases without hydrops, and (4) complete A-V block without hydrops. One hundred and ten control fetuses were also studied. The ejection fraction in the first and third groups was significantly lower than that in the control. In the first group, systolic flow velocity in the descending aorta normalized but gestational age was significantly lower than that in the controls. Compensation of fetal cardiac function in the fourth group (complete A-V block) was noted on the basis of higher flow velocity and higher contractility. The cardiothoracic area ratios of the pathological and control groups were also evaluated.

Ultrasonography of Fetal Heart Failure in Early Gestation

“…Most cases of cardiac dysfunction were previously observed in hydropic fetuses (Klienman et al, 1982;Allan et al, 1986;Chiba et al, 1990;Paladini et al, 1990;Apkon, 1995). However, in our study group, fetal ascites was noted in only one of the first nine cases who had impaired cardiac contractility.…”

“…Several kinds of cardiac dysfunctions such as reduced ventricular contractility or supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) have also been reported in the human fetus (Kleinman et al, 1982;Allan et al, 1986;Chiba et al, 1990;Paladini et al, 1990). However, most of the studies on both normal and abnormal cardiac activity have been reported on fetuses of more than 17 weeks' gestation.…”

A Rare Case of Non-Immune Hydrops fetalis: Double-Chambered Right Ventricle

“…When a cardiac malformation is the cause, the chance of survival is reduced [1,[3][4][5][6]. Isolated doublechambered right ventricle (a moderator band divides the ventricle in two parts) has been known since 1962 [7] and more than 100 cases have been published [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16].…”

Preload Index of the Inferior Vena Cava as a Possible Predictive Marker of Hydropic Changes in Fetuses With Ebstein Anomaly

“…Some reports have indicated that this index can be used for the evaluation of fetal circulation in cases of some kinds of fetal congenital heart diseases. [6][7][8] Here, we review the chronologic changes in the PLI-IVC values in 5 cases of Ebstein anomaly managed at our institution between 1999 and 2008 to investigate whether this index is of diagnostic value for predicting fetal hydropic changes.…”