title: Developmental characteristics of fetal arrhythmias during the period from intrauterine to early extrauterine life assessed using dual echocardiography.
abstract: To evaluate the outcome of fetal arrhythmias, serial echocardiographic examinations were made on 29 fetuses between 18 and 41 weeks gestation, including 23 with premature contractions (PCs) and 6 with complete atrioventricular block (AVB). Of the cases of PCs 43.5% (10/23) disappeared spontaneously during the antenatal period. 39.1% (9/23) converted to a normal sinus rhythm in early neonatal life, while 17.4% (4/23) had complications of either atrial or ventricular tachycardia. All with AVB (6/6) remained, regardless of advance in gestational age and continued through to the postnatal period. PCs and AVB indicate functional error and an impairment during development of the conduction system, respectively.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Faculty of Medicine, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Koyanagi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hara
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Satoh
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nakano
mesh_terms: D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000196:embryology*; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005315:Fetal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006327:Heart Block / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis; D013997:Time Factors