Systematic fetal autopsy in cases of medical termination of pregnancy due to chromosomal abnormalities: improving the quality of perinatal care?

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2010

Authors

ramalho, c (Author) FMUP; Brandao, O (Author) Other; matias, a (Author) FMUP; Montenegro N (Author) FMUP

Journal

Title: Prenatal Diagnosis

Vol. 30

Pages: 1000-1004

ISSN: 0197-3851

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 3 Citations

Scopus - 3 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-003-2N1

DOI: 10.1002/pd.2605

Abstract (EN): Objectives Evaluation of the clinical utility of systematically performing autopsy after termination of pregnancy (TOP) due to chromosomal abnormalities Methods A retrospective study of cases of TOP due to chromosomal abnormalities was performed between 1 January 2002 and 30 September 2007, in a tertiary referral hospital A comparative study between prenatal ultrasonographic findings and postmortem findings was performed Results There were 57 cases of TOP (hie to chromosomal abnormalities The median gestational age at TOP was 17 (range 14-24 weeks) There were 46 trisomies, 4 monosomies, 4 triploidies and 3 cases of structural anomalies In 25 cases (43 9%) there was at least one major anomaly detected by ultrasound In 15 cases (26 3%) additional information was obtained alter fetal autopsy. m 7 cases further major structural anomalies were detected, and in 8 cases the presence of a major abnormality was not confirmed by the autopsy Conclusion Fetal autopsy may provide additional information to the ultrasonographic morphological evaluation of the fetus submitted to TOP clue to chromosomal abnormalities. The combination of prenatal ultrasound and pathological examination can broaden our knowledge of the natural history of chromosomal anomalies in the earlier stages of development and eventually contribute to improve the quality of perinatal care Copyright (C) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 5