Role of global sphericity index in evaluation of fetal cardiac remodeling in late onset fetal growth restriction and small for gestational age fetuses.

INTRODUCTION: Fetal growth restriction (FGR) fetuses develop cardiovascular remodeling and dysfunction and, in this process, heart first compensates by changing its shape from ellipsoid to spherical and then cardiac dysfunction follows. Our aim was to evaluate global sphericity index (GSI) after 32 weeks of gestation to evaluate this change in cardiac shape and correlate GSI changes associated with fetal growth abnormalities. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a prospective study conducted at 32-38 weeks of gestation. Women were classified into three groups-Appropriate for gestational age (AGA), small for gestational age (SGA), late onset FGR (LO FGR) and GSI was measured and perinatal outcome studied. RESULTS: Out of 217 women, 131 were of AGA, 31 were SGA, 55 were of late onset FGR. SGA and late onset FGR groups had low GSI compared to AGA group. There was no significant difference in mean GSI between late onset FGR and SGA groups. Neonatal morbidity, adverse perinatal outcomes did not significantly differ with GSI in SGA and late onset FGR groups. CONCLUSION: This study showed that late gestation small fetuses develop early stages of cardiovascular remodeling as shown by GSI changes. These changes were independent of Doppler changes. This supports the concept that atleast a proportion of them are not constitutionally small but are true forms of FGR.

Aorto-pulmonary window with absent ductus arteriosus-A case report.

Aorto-pulmonary window (APW) is a rare congenital heart defect characterized by the connection between the ascending aorta and the pulmonary trunk before its bifurcation, just above the semilunar valves, due to the abnormal development of spiral septum. The short-axis echocardiographic view of the right ventricular outflow track, the three-vessel-view, and the three-vessel-trachea view are the key planes for prenatal diagnosis. We report a case of APW with absent ductus arteriosus in a monochorionic twin, detected by prenatal echocardiography. The diagnosis was confirmed postnatally and corrective surgery was performed at the age of 1 week. Prenatal diagnosis of APW is essential, since surgical correction early after birth is required to prevent congestive heart failure secondary to high pulmonary blood flow.

Impact of antepartum diagnostic amnioinfusion on targeted ultrasound imaging of pregnancies presenting with severe oligo- and anhydramnios: An analysis of 61 cases.

OBJECTIVES: The primary objective our study was to assess the role of diagnostic antepartum amnioinfusion on the yield from targeted ultrasounds performed in pregnancies with severe oligo- and anhydramnios. STUDY DESIGN: This was a retrospective and descriptive study, conducted in the fetal medicine units of two private tertiary care referral centers in south India. The details of all the cases of diagnostic amnioinfusion performed at these two centers from January 2009 to June 2016 were collected and analyzed. Inclusion criteria were pregnancies between 17 and 26 weeks of gestational age with severe oligo- or anhydramnios. Pregnancies with obvious preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM) were excluded. The primary outcome measure was the improvement in diagnostic information pertaining to cause of severe oligo- and anhydramnios, and the nature of such anomalies. RESULTS: A total of 61 cases of were identified. The median gestational age at performance of the procedure was 22 weeks [IQR, 19.5-23]. The mean volume of normal saline infused was 314±54ml. A significant increase in the single vertical pocket (SVP) was observed following the procedure (pre-procedure SVP=0.6±0.9cm, post procedure SVP=3.4±1.7; paired t test, p<0.001). In 37 cases (37/61, 60.7%), there were no pre-procedure ultrasound findings. There was significant overall detection of abnormalities post procedure (mean pre-procedure findings=0.39±0.49, mean post procedure findings=1.59±1.24; paired t test, p<0.001). The most frequent group of anomalies/abnormalities were renal (36/61, 59%), followed by PPROM (13/61, 21.3%) and finally fetal growth restriction (11/61, 18%). CONCLUSION(S): Antepartum amnioinfusion is a valuable ancillary technique in prenatal diagnosis as it increases the diagnostic yield from pregnancies presenting with severe oligo- and anhydramnios.

Unguarded tricuspid orifice---a rare cause of fetal right atrial dilatation with characteristic color doppler sign: Case report with review of literature.

The anatomic causes for fetal right atrial dilatation with tricuspid regurgitation include Ebstein anomaly, tricuspid dysplasia, unguarded tricuspid orifice, and Uhl anomaly. Unguarded tricuspid orifice is characterized by complete or partial agenesis of the tricuspid valvular and subvalvular structures. It is commonly associated with pulmonary atresia. Its prenatal diagnosis is usually associated with unfavorable prognosis. We present a prenatally diagnosed case of fetal unguarded tricuspid orifice with description of its diagnostic workup, along with a review of literature, to enhance the understanding of this rarely reported entity. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound 45:370-374, 2017.

A retrospective single centre review of the incidence and prognostic significance of persistent foetal right umbilical vein.

The objective of our study was to appraise the incidence and significance of persistent right umbilical vein (PRUV), the most common foetal venous aberration. Based on a south Indian antenatal cohort, we identified 23 cases of PRUV amongst 20,452 foetuses of consecutive pregnancies, from 2009 to 2014, yielding an incidence of 1 in 889 total births (0.11%). The median maternal age was 24 (IQR, 22-26) years, and median gestational age at diagnosis was 23 (IQR, 22-24) weeks. Intrahepatic drainage of PRUV was seen in 91.3% cases. In three cases (13%), ductus venosus was absent. In 52.2% of the cases, additional major abnormalities were observed - predominantly cardiovascular (39.1%). The common minor marker was single umbilical artery (13%). The karyotype was found to be normal in six cases (26%) which underwent invasive testing. When associated anomalies were inconsequential or absent, the postnatal outcome was good, which reflected in 60.9% of our cases.