Restricción de crecimiento intrauterina selectiva tipo III, en gemelos monocoriales: serie de casos y revisión de la literatura / Monochorionic twins with type III selective intrauterine growth restriction: case series and review of the literature

We present four cases of monochorionic twin pregnancies with diagnosis of type III selective intrauterine growth restriction, highlighting the ultrasonographic characteristics (evaluation of the umbilical artery intermittent reverse diastole and the superficial arterio-arterial anastomosis), its evolution during pregnancy and its follow-up during the first month of life.

Se presenta cuatro casos de gestaciones dobles monocoriales afectadas con restricción selectiva de crecimiento de tipo III, con énfasis en las características ecográficas (evaluación de la diástole intermitente reversa de la arteria umbilical y la anastomosis superficial arterio-arterial), evolución durante la gestación y seguimiento hasta el mes de vida.

Clinical significance of Doppler velocimetry and oligohydramnios in intrauterine growth restriction / 대한산부인과학회지

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to prove the clinical significance by evaluating pregnancy outcomes from intrauterine growth restriction using waves of the Doppler velocimetry of uterine and umbilical artery and amniotic fluid index. METHODS: Throughout the period of January 2000 to May 2005 at our hospital, we reviewed 127 cases diagnosed with intrauterine growth restriction after 24 weeks of pregnancy and the existences of diastolic notch of uterine artery (DNUT), absent or reversed end-diastolic velocity of umbilical artery (AEDV) and oligohydramnios were considered abnormal. We set the group that had no abnormal signs as the control group (62 cases), and respectively compared the groups that had oligohydramnios (24 cases), unilateral DNUT (27 cases), bilateral DNUT (10 cases) and AEDV (13 cases) with the control group. And we compared the groups that had only one abnormal sign, that is oligohydramnios (20 cases), bilateral DNUT (7 cases), AEDV (7 cases) and the group showing 2 or more complicated abnormal signs those above (9 cases) with the control group. RESULTS: Perinatal outcomes such as preterm birth, low birth weight, lower 5-min Apgar score (A/S), neonatal acidosis, admission rate of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and perinatal mortality were poor statistically in groups with DNUT, AEDV and oligohydramnios compared to those which have none of these abnormal signs. And those with DNUT had worse results when affected on both sides. And those with AEDV showed worse perinatal outcomes compared to those with bilateral DNUT or oligohydramnios; any overlapping of these abnormal signs indicated worse perinatal outcomes, which had statistic significance. CONCLUSION: Close observation of the fetal well-being by analysis on the wave velocimetry of the blood flow such as the uterine arteries and umbilical arteries and the measurement of the amniotic fluid volume enables predicting the perinatal prognosis of the intrauterine-growth restricted fetuses which may contribute in reducing the perinatal morbidity and mortality.

The clinical impact of absent or reversed end-diastolic velocity in the umbilical artery before the 34th week of pregnancy / 대한산부인과학회잡지

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical impact of absent or reversed end-diastolic (ARED) umbilical artery flow detected before the 34th week of pregnancy in high-risk pregnancies. METHODS: Fifty-eight singleton pregnant women with high-risk factors were included in this retrospective study. Based on the umbilical artery Doppler finding, pregnant women were divided into 3 groups: group 1 (12 subjects) with normal Doppler systolic/diastolic (S/D) ratios; group 2 (30 subjects) with significant abnormal umbilical artery S/D ratios, and group 3 (16 subjects) with ARED flow in the umbilical artery between the 25+0 and 33+6 gestational weeks. Incidence of intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) and pregnancy-induced hypertension, detection week, diagnosis-to-delivery interval, birth weight and gestational ages at delivery, Apgar scores, emergency cesarean section, neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission, admission-to-discharge interval, perinatal mortality (PNM) and morbidity, and neonatal morbidity were registered. Perinatal outcomes were assessed. The data was analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U-test and X-square test. A significant difference was considered present if p was<0.05. RESULTS: The PNM in group 3 in the study was 25% (4/16). Sixteen had ARED flow. Our study shows that fetuses with ARED flow tend to be more severely growth-retarded. Our results also show ARED flow to be associated with poor perinatal outcome. There was a higher incidence of cesarean section for fetal distress, neonatal intensive care unit admission, and lower Apgar scores. Birth weight and gestational age at delivery were lower. The diagnosis-to-delivery interval was shorter. The admission-to-discharge interval was longer. CONCLUSION: An early ARED finding before the 34th week in the umbilical artery is a very serious sign of likely fetal compromise. The perinatal mortality and morbidity rate were high, and there was evidence of acute or chronic hypoxia in most fetuses. It is an indication that extremely careful surveillance should be followed but not necessarily an indication for an emergency delivery.