Prenatal sonographic findings were reviewed in 30 fetuses with a single umbilical artery (SUA) to determine the reliability of ultrasound for detecting concurrent anomalies. Additional anomalies were identified in 15 fetuses, including 3 fetuses with minor anomalies and 12 fetuses with major or multiple concurrent anomalies. Minor anomalies observed in 3 fetuses included 1 case each of pelvic kidney, unilateral absent kidney, and mild cerebral ventricular dilatation. Major abnormalities detected in 12 fetuses involved a variety of organ systems and included cardiac defects, holoprosencephaly, skeletal dysplasia, hydrocephalus, omphalocele, hydrothorax, enlarged cisterna magna, and diaphragmatic hernia. Clinical and pathologic correlation showed that all fetuses were correctly categorized regarding the presence of other anomalies; none of the 15 fetuses in whom an SUA was considered an isolated finding had a significant anomaly at birth. Chromosome abnormalities were found in 6 of 12 fetuses with major abnormalities but in none of the 18 remaining fetuses. We conclude that prenatal ultrasound can reliably identify major concurrent anomalies in fetuses with SUA. In the absence of additional anomalies, prenatal detection of SUA should not alter obstetric management.
In a multicenter, randomized clinical trial, we assessed the early neurologic development of 93 children born prematurely whose heart rates were monitored electronically during delivery and compared it with that of 96 children born prematurely whose heart rates were periodically monitored by auscultation. All the children were singletons with cephalic presentation, and all weighed less than or equal to 1750 g at birth. The mental and psychomotor indexes of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (standardized mean score +/- SD, 100 +/- 16) and a formal neurologic examination were administered at three follow-up visits (at 4, 8, and 18 months of age, corrected for gestational age). At 18 months, the mean mental-development scores in the groups receiving electronic fetal monitoring and periodic auscultation were 100.5 +/- 2.4 and 104.9 +/- 1.8, respectively (P greater than 0.1). The mean psychomotor-development scores in the two groups at 18 months were 94.0 +/- 2.4 and 98.3 +/- 1.8, respectively (P greater than 0.1). The incidence of cerebral palsy was higher in the electronically monitored group--20 percent as compared with 8 percent in the group that was monitored by auscultation (P less than 0.03). In the electronic-fetal-monitoring group (but not in the periodic-auscultation group), the risk of cerebral palsy increased with the duration of abnormal fetal-heart-rate patterns, as assessed by retrospective review (chi 2 trend = 12.71, P less than 0.001). The median time to delivery after the diagnosis of abnormal fetal-heart-rate patterns was 104 minutes with electronic fetal monitoring, as compared with 60 minutes with periodic auscultation. We conclude that as compared with a structured program of periodic auscultation, electronic fetal monitoring does not result in improved neurologic development in children born prematurely.
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