Incidence and associations of single umbilical artery in prenatally diagnosed malformed, midtrimester fetuses: A review of 62 cases

Abstract

The absence of one umbilical artery (SUA) is the most common malformation of the umbilical cord. It may accompany other abnormalities or occur as an isolated defect. We examined 885 fetuses, terminated following the prenatal diagnosis of serious or lethal malformations between April 1977 and March 1989, for the presence of SUA. We found 62 cases of SUA. This represents an incidence of 7.01% (62/885). The most common abnormalities found in association with SUA were: (1) multiple malformations (8/11 cases, SUA incidence = 72.7%), (2) ADAM complex (7/14 cases, SUA incidence = 50.%), (3) multicystic renal dysplasia (5/20 cases, SUA incidence = 25.%), and (4) Potter sequence (5/21 cases, SUA incidence = 23.8%). These associations have not been documented previously. In 6 fetuses the Meckel syndrome was diagnosed, and SUA was present in 2 of these. Therefore, SUA may represent an additional anomaly in Meckel syndrome that has not been reported previously.

A Practical Approach to Fetal Growth Restriction

“…The prevalence of single umbilical artery ranges from 0.2% to 11%, depending on the population studied. [11][12][13][14][15] Neonates with isolated single umbilical artery have increased rates of growth restriction (10.9% compared with 25.0%) and estimated fetal weight less than the 10th percentile (odds ratio 2.23; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.84-2.69). 16 In our institution, we recommend a fetal growth ultrasound examination at 32 weeks of gestation or pregnancies complicated with single umbilical artery.…”

Incidencia Y Asociaciones De Arteria Umbilical Única en Recién Nacidos: Maternidad Del Hospital Clínico De La Universidad De Chile, 1998-2010

“…La prevalencia de AUU encontrada en nuestra muestra (0,3 %) es muy superior a la encontrada por nosotros en una comunicación anterior (7) para el período 1978-98 (0,1%), pero muy inferior a la comunicada por otros autores que dan entre 0,6% y 1,2% (11,12,13). Hua y cols (14), en una casuís-tica de 72.373 embarazos da una prevalencia de 0,61% y Horton y cols de 1,3% (6).…”

“…60% of cases has another MCMF (35.3% of the genitourinary system and 29.4% involved the cardiovascular system). 23.8% of cases were part of a syndrome, 13 and 18 trisomy were the most common (12 cases, 18.5%). 13 newborns died (23.2%), 8 of them (61.5%) had IUGR.…”

Prenatal diagnosis of a fetus with a cryptic translocation 4p;18p and Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome (WHS)

“…As an isolated abnormality it is of no clinical importance. Several reports, though, stated a signi®-cant correlation with major malformations (Heifetz, 1984;Csecsei et al, 1992) and considered SUA a major criterion in prenatal screening (Catanzarite et al, 1995). So far it has not been related to a speci®c chromosomal region.…”