Esophageal atresia in the Northern Region Congenital Anomaly Survey, 1985-1997: Prenatal diagnosis and outcome

Specific biochemical amniotic fluid pattern of fetal isolated esophageal atresia

“…The only decrease is due to the half-lives of the enzymes: a flat decrease for GGTP (longer half-life) and a sharper decrease for AMP (shorter half-life). Because persistent swallowing disorders are observed after birth in EA-affected neonates and infants (3,15) and because EA-affected fetuses cannot swallow AF, we first compared EA with the fetal swallowing anomalies observed in another upper tract intestinal obstruction (duodenal atresia, above or below the Oddi sphincter) in order to find a plausible pathophysiological explanation for the EA-dissociated biochemical pattern. We confirmed the parallel increase of both GGTP and AMP activity levels in DA-BOS (13) and observed that DA-AOS showed an AF pattern different from DA-BOS but identical to that of EA.…”

“…In EA, impaired fetal swallowing in conjunction with obstruction of the gastrointestinal tract contributes to the development of polyhydramnios and nonvisualizable fetal stomach (8). Therefore, the suspicion of EA is usually based on these findings at ultrasound with, however, a high false-positive rate and a poor detection rate of ~50% (3,(8)(9)(10)(11). In a previous study based on a series of 44 cases of EA, we observed that amniotic fluid (AF) biochemistry had potential additional value in prenatal diagnosis, with a significant difference for total protein, α-fetoprotein, and γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGTP) between the EA group (whatever the anatomical type) and the control group (12).…”

Prevalence of esophageal atresia among 18 international birth defects surveillance programs

“…Similarly, differences in rates among areas in the United States have been reported with a prevalence of 2.24 in Hawaii (Forrester and Merz, 2005), 2.33 in Texas (Ethen and Canfield, 2002), and 2.82 per 10,000 births in California (Torfs et al, 1995); among European countries, prevalence has been reported for Iceland (1.83 per 10,000; Gunnarsdottir et al, 2004), Strasbourg, France (2.96 per 10,000; Stoll et al, 2009), and the United Kingdom Northern Region (3.13 per 10,000 births; Sparey et al, 2000). Given that EA is a rare condition, small numbers may also have a potential effect on rates.…”

Balloon Dissection for Extra Pleural Approach in Tracheoesophageal Fistula Repair; A Novel Technique

“…The survival of those patients improved markedly over the last two decades as a result of advances in neonatal intensive care, neonatal anesthesia, ventilatory and nutritional support, antibiotics, early surgical intervention, surgical materials and techniques [9]. Associated congenital anomalies occur in 40-60% of infants with esophageal atresia [10][11][12]. Similarly, other major birth defects were reported in 36% of the included cases in this study.…”