Trombosis antenatal de aneurisma espontáneo de conducto arterial / Antenatal thrombosis of arterial ductus spontaneous aneurysm

Los aneurismas espontáneos del conducto arterial se detectan inusualmente de forma prenatal. Su incidencia varía entre 1,5 por ciento y 8 por ciento de los embarazos. Usualmente se solucionan espontáneamente; sin embargo, pueden presentarse complicaciones letales como trombosis, embolia y ruptura. Los casos fatales descritos son escasos, la mayoría después del nacimiento. El objetivo es presentar el reporte de autopsia de un mortinato cuya causa de muerte fue la trombosis de aneurisma del conducto arterial. La madre fue una primigesta de 22 años de edad, con embarazo de 40 semanas sin antecedentes de importancia, atendida en un hospital de tercer nivel de Bucaramanga, Santander. Le realizamos una cesárea emergente por perfil biofísico fetal alterado y bradicardia fetal. Se obtuvo un mortinato masculino sin esfuerzo respiratorio, hipotónico, cianótico, que no respondió a maniobras de reanimación. Los hallazgos de autopsia relevantes fueron: dilatación auricular derecha y dilatación preductal con trombosis del conducto cuya luz estaba completamente ocluida por un coágulo. Los aneurismas ductales prenatales son una entidad que merece más estudio para determinar estrategias de diagnóstico precoz y seguimiento, y así disminuir el riesgo de desenlaces fatales(AU)

Introduction: Spontaneous ductus arteriosus aneurysm is a condition rarely diagnosed on prenatal imaging. Literature reveals 1,5 to 8 percent incidence on pregnancies. Most cases have spontaneous resolution, nonetheless, life-threatening complications such thrombosis, embolism and rupture can occur. Fatal cases reports are scarce, most of them presenting on newborns, days to months after birth. Objective: To present the autopsy report of a stillbirth whose cause of death was thrombosis of the arterial duct aneurysm. Methods: A 22-year healthy prime mother with 40-week pregnancy was assisted at a tertiary hospital in Bucaramanga, Santander. She required emergency cesarean section due to low biophysical profile and fetal bradycardia. The newborn had no respiratory effort, was floppy, cyanotic and did not respond to resuscitation maneuvers. The relevant autopsy findings were right atrial dilatation and preductal dilation with thrombosis of the duct whose lumen was completely occluded by a clot. Conclusions: The prenatal ductal aneurysm is an entity that deserves more study to determine strategies for early diagnosis and follow-up thus decrease the risk of fatal outcomes(AU)

Congenital malformations at birth in Central India: A rural medical college hospital based data.

OBJECTIVE: To study the incidence of congenital anomalies and the associated risk factors in Department of Pediatrics at Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Sevagram, Wardha, a rural medical college hospital in central Maharashtra. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All the intramural deliveries between 1 January 2005 and 31 July 2007 comprised 9386 births and their 9324 mothers (62 mothers gave birth to twin babies). The newborns were examined and assessed systematically for the presence of congenital anomalies, system wise distribution of anomalies and risk factors attributable. RESULTS: Out of the total 9386 deliveries, 9194 were live births and 192 were stillbirths. The total number of babies with congenital malformations was 179 (1.91%). Out of the 9262 singleton births, 177 (1.05%) were malformed, whereas 2 of the 62 pairs of twins had birth defects. Nine of the 179 malformed babies (5.02%) were still born. Prematurity, increased maternal age, increasing birth order and low birth weight were found to have a higher risk of congenital anomalies. Cardiovascular malformations were most common in live births, followed by musculoskeletal and genitourinary anomalies. CONCLUSION: Congenital anomalies are a major cause of stillbirths and infant mortality. Evaluation of cardiovascular system to rule out congenital heart disease in high-risk mothers’ babies is the important factor to be considered.

Homozygosity for the Mediterranean alpha-thalassemic deletion [hemoglobin Baits hydrops fetalis]

Hemoglobin Barts hydrops fetalis syndrome is the most severe and generally fatal clinical phenotype of alpha-thalassemia. We diagnosed a fetus at 23-weeks gestation with having hydrops fetalis, by ultrasound. At 32 weeks, intrauterine death was detected. Molecular studies revealed that the fetus had the hemoglobin Barts hydrops fetalis syndrome due to homozygosity for the Mediterranean alpha-thalassemia deletion. This clinical phenotype is generally rare in the Eastern Mediterranean, and this is the first report of this syndrome from Iraq. Techniques for molecular characterization became available only very recently in this country, in a diagnostic setting. Thus, the detection of further cases might be expected in future