Fatal outcome following foetal cerebellar haemorrhage associated with placental thrombosis.

Cerebellar haemorrhage is a rare prenatal event. Possible aetiologies for foetal intracranial haemorrhage include: trauma, asphyxia, infection, vascular defects, blood dyscrasias, ingestion of drugs and alloimmune and isoimmune thrombocytopenia. We report the ultrasonographic diagnosis of a cerebellar haematoma at 21 weeks of gestation. The foetus succumbed at 33 weeks of gestation following rupture of a subcapsular liver haematoma. An autopsy demonstrated a placental foetal thrombotic vasculopathy and thrombi in the chorionic vessels. We assume that hypercoagulability was responsible for the multiple infarcts in the foetus with haemorrhagic transformation in the cerebellum and liver. The differential diagnosis of foetal cerebellar haemorrhage includes maternal hypercoagulability; in this case multiple haemorrhagic/ischaemic events may be encountered during the pregnancy. A thorough investigation to elucidate the aetiology is pertinent in every case of foetal cerebellar haemorrhage in order to enable accurate counselling and correct management.

Comparison of transvaginal sonography with digital examination and transabdominal sonography for the determination of fetal head position in the second stage of labor.

OBJECTIVE: Precise determination of fetal head position in labor is a prerequisite for safe instrumental deliveries, and essential for the assessment of labor progress. Recent studies have cast serious doubts on the accuracy of the time-honored digital vaginal examination (DVE) in comparison to transabdominal ultrasound scans (TUS). However, transabdominal imaging is technically difficult with a deeply engaged fetal head in the second stage of labor. We examined the accuracy and time requirements of transvaginal scans (TVS) in the second stage of labor for determination of fetal head position. STUDY DESIGN: Sixty laboring women in the second stage of labor with a deeply engaged fetal head were examined by experienced nurse midwives and senior residents. Fetal head position was recorded as "time on a 12-hour clock." Subsequently, TUS and TVS were independently performed by a skilled sonographer. Accuracy and time requirements for all 3 examinations were recorded. RESULTS: Fetal head position could be determined in all cases by TVS, but not in 7 cases and 9 cases by DVE and TUS, respectively (P < .03; P < .008). A discrepancy of 60 degrees or more between the DVE and TUS or TVS was found in 13/60 cases (21.7%) and 14/60 cases (23.3%), respectively. A > or = 90 degrees discrepancy was found in 9/60 cases (15%) and 12/60 cases (20%), respectively (P < .02 for comparison of TUS and TVS). In 5 cases, the digital examination erroneously perceived an occiput posterior position as occiput anterior. No significant differences in fetal head position were detected between TUS and TVS, when the examination was technically feasible. The mean time (+/-SD) required for determining fetal head position was shortest for TVS (8.7 +/- 5.8 seconds) in comparison to DVE (22.7 +/- 14.6 seconds; P < .0001) or TAS (31.7 +/- 19.1 seconds; P < .0001). CONCLUSION: Transvaginal sonography was the most successful and accurate method for determination of fetal head position in the second stage of labor, and required the least time for performance. We believe that TVS should be routinely performed in the labor room setting for the determination of fetal head position.

Fetal cytomegalovirus infection of the brain: the spectrum of sonographic findings.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection can cause a wide range of brain anomalies. These changes have been well described postnatally, but descriptions of their in utero evolution are scarce. The purpose of this study was to analyze the sonographic spectrum of intracranial abnormalities in fetuses with proved CMV infection and to determine characteristic patterns of this infection. METHODS: We reviewed the transabdominal and transvaginal sonograms of eight fetuses with proved CMV infection. The sonographic analysis searched for signs of ventriculitis, leukomalacia, calcification, vasculitis, and periventricular cyst formation. The gyral pattern, corpus callosum, and cerebellar morphology also were examined. Fetal MR imaging was performed in two cases. RESULTS: The sonographic diagnosis of suspected CMV infection was made at a mean gestational age of 27.5 weeks (range, 22-37 weeks). An abnormal pattern of periventricular echogenicity was found in all fetuses. Echogenic intraparenchymal foci and ventriculomegaly were present in five fetuses. Other signs of fetal infection were intraventricular adhesions, periventricular pseudocysts, sulcation and gyral abnormal patterns, hypoplastic corpus callosum, cerebellar and cisterna magna abnormalities, and signs of striatal artery vasculopathy. For all fetuses, transvaginal sonography provided additional information. Fetal MR imaging provided additional information in one case. CONCLUSION: The presence of the described sonographic findings, particularly if two or more are present in the same fetus, is an indication for CMV investigation.