Early second-trimester diagnosis of intracranial teratoma.

Congenital brain tumors are rare and, whether diagnosed prenatally or postnatally, the most frequent type is teratoma. Prenatal diagnosis relies on sonography and magnetic resonance imaging, and is usually achieved during the second or third trimester. We report a case of an intracranial tumor diagnosed in the early second trimester. The diagnosis had been suspected at first-trimester routine sonography, which showed a compressive intracranial mass with mild vascularization. Because of the poor prognosis, termination of pregnancy was discussed with the parents and was carried out at 14 weeks of gestation. Postmortem examination provided a diagnosis of right frontal immature teratoma.

Serial transabdominal amnioinfusion in the management of gastroschisis with severe oligohydramnios.

Two fetuses with gastroschisis diagnosed in utero (at 19 weeks' gestation) had severe oligohydramnios at 30 to 31 weeks. Serial transabdominal amnioinfusions were performed to fill the amniotic cavity with saline, thereby avoiding the potential consequences of fetal exposure to severe oligohydramnios. In both cases, premature rupture of membranes occurred at 36 weeks, and the fetuses were delivered by cesarean section. There were minimal lesions of the extraabdominal bowel. After primary closure of the abdomen, the postoperative course was uneventful. These observations show that serial amnioinfusion is a feasible therapeutic approach for severe third-trimester oligohydramnios associated with gastroschisis.

Fetal toxoplasmosis: ultrasonographic signs.

Eighty-nine cases of proven Toxoplasma gondii fetal infection were studied in order to describe the morphological lesions which could be demonstrated on ultrasound examination; these were present in 32 of the infected cases. Cerebral ventricular dilatation was the most common sign and was generally bilateral and symmetrical. Its evolution was always very rapid over a period of a few days. Other signs observed included intracranial and intrahepatic densities, increased thickness and hyperdensity of the placenta, ascites and rarely pericardial and pleural effusions. Thirteen fetuses demonstrated two or more ultrasound features. Intrauterine growth retardation and microcephaly were not observed. Ultrasonographic assessment of the fetus injected with Toxoplasma gondii is important. It improves the reliability of prenatal diagnosis and is of important prognostic value in cases with severe brain lesions, but is of little value in detecting brain necrosis without ventricular dilatation.

Fetal toxoplasmosis: outcome of pregnancy and infant follow-up after in utero treatment.

Eight-nine cases of fetal Toxoplasma infection are reported in women treated with spiramycin during pregnancy. Thirty-four pregnancy terminations were performed (2.7% of the total number of acquired Toxoplasma infections during pregnancy). Fifty-two pregnancies were allowed to proceed (43 being additionally treated with pyrimethamine and sulfonamides), leading to the birth of 54 live infants. After a mean follow-up period of 19 months, 41 infants had evidence of subclinical Toxoplasma infection, 12 had a benign form, and one had severe congenital toxoplasmosis (this infant did not receive the additional treatment during pregnancy). Efficacy of the additional treatment with pyrimethamine and sulfonamides was demonstrated by a significant reduction of severe congenital toxoplasmosis and the relative decrease of the ratio of benign to subclinical forms. We recommended that spiramycin treatment be started as soon as possible once the diagnosis of maternal Toxoplasma infection during pregnancy is proved or strongly suspected, because a prolonged time interval between onset of infection and start of treatment seems to be associated with the presence of severe fetal lesions at the time of prenatal diagnosis.

Assessment of fetal blood volume for computer-assisted management of in utero transfusion.

We performed 41 intravascular ultrasound-guided fetal transfusions in a total of 20 pregnancies with erythroblastosis fetalis or alloimmune thrombocytopenia. On the basis of this experience, we developed a computer-assisted procedure for determining the volume to be transfused, which provides an adequate final concentration. Fetal weight was estimated using ultrasound measurements. Fetoplacental blood volume was estimated from the regression line: fetoplacental volume (ml) = 1.046 + fetal weight (g) X 0.14. The volume to be transfused was calculated using the simple dilution formula: Vtransfused = Vfetoplacental.(Cfinal - Cinitial)/Ctransfused where C is the hematocrit or platelet count. The entire procedure is computerized, simple and rapid, and avoids resorting to repeated intermediate sampling. The dilution formula used appears to be more reliable than a formula taking into account the volume added, even in erythroblastosis fetalis where relatively large volumes are injected. This suggests rapid plasma loss during the procedure.