Fetal echocardiography has recently caused an impact on the treatment of congenital heart disease and in the field of therapeutic, cardiological intervention. The present study reports on a case of critical aortic stenosis, diagnosed in utero at 27 weeks’ gestation, and in which balloon dilatation was attempted to improve the poor prognosis associated with this condition. Since the endocardium at this stage of development was apparently normal, this therapeutic intervention was attempted to avoid irreversible damage to the left ventricle. Although hydrops disappeared and the myocardium hypertrophied, endocardial fibroelastosis progressed and the neonate died within the first day of life, after surgical aortic valvotomy. More data are necessary to clarify whether endocardial fibroelastosis is really a consequence of high pressure in the left ventricle resulting from stenosis of the aortic valve or whether it is a disease, the progression of which is unavoidable once it takes hold.
Fetal echocardiography was performed during the third trimester in a normal primigravida. The fetal heart was severely affected with the typical cardiac manifestations of Marfan syndrome. The medical history of the father was investigated and a mild form of the syndrome was diagnosed. The neonate died at 2 months of age of congestive heart failure.
Objective: To assess the accuracy of first trimester ultrasonography in determining fetal sex by orientation of genital tubercle in relation to spine in a midsagittal plane. Material and methods: Between May 2000 and 2001, 110 patients were studied from 11 to 14 weeks of gestation (average 12.1 weeks) at first trimester ultrasonography. The genital region was examined in a midsagittal plane and the fetal gender was assigned as male if the angle of the genital tubercle to a horizontal line through the lumbosacral skin surface was greater than 30° and female when the genital tubercle was parallel or convergent (<30°). All final results were checked after birth. Results: Among 148 patients, only in 16 (10.8%) fetal sex was not determined. In 132 patients (89.2%), genital tubercle was identified and sex was determined. There were 106 (80.3%) hits and 26 mistakes (19.7%). Conclusion: The diagnosis of fetal sex at first trimester has an important role in case of X‐linked anomalies so invasive procedures can be avoided if fetuses are female. Our results are similar to others in literature. The accuracy of gender determination by ultrasonography was 80.3%. Most common mistake was to assign male fetuses as female. We believe that this error is due to the angle variation of the genital tubercle during the exam.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.