ABSTRACT
Five pregnant Southeast Asian women presenting during a 14-month period with microcytic anemia, preeclampsia, and size-date discrepancies were all ultimately diagnosed as carrying fetuses with homozygous alpha-thalassemia hydrops fetalis. The perinatal complications of this hemoglobin disorder are unique to persons of this ethnic background and include uniform fatality for the affected infant, maternal preeclamptic morbidity, and retained placenta. In this report the obstetric ultrasound findings are presented and the clinical manifestations are discussed, with recommendations made to reduce this emerging public health problem in the United States.
Subject(s)
Edema/diagnosis , Fetal Diseases/diagnosis , Pregnancy Complications, Hematologic/diagnosis , Prenatal Diagnosis , Thalassemia/genetics , Ultrasonography , Adult , Asia, Southeastern/ethnology , Edema/etiology , Female , Fetal Death/etiology , Fetal Diseases/genetics , Genetic Carrier Screening , Genetic Counseling , Humans , Infant Mortality , Male , New York , Obstetric Labor, Premature/etiology , Pregnancy , Thalassemia/therapyABSTRACT
The prenatal diagnosis and postpartum confirmation of hydranencephaly is discussed. The need for an adequate knowledge of fetal cranial anatomy when performing obstetric sonography is stressed.
