title: Cordocentesis for diagnostic indications: two years' experience.
abstract: Cordocentesis was performed 96 times over a two-year interval, for a variety of diagnostic indications, in 55 completed pregnancies of 16-40 weeks' duration. There were four unsuccessful procedures, two associated with severe hydramnios and posterior placentas in which the available needles were too short. Sixty-three percent of procedures were successful on the first try; 95% succeeded within three attempts. Sixty-four percent of the samples were obtained from the placental cord origin, 27% from a free-floating loop, and 9% from the fetal cord origin. There were no maternal or significant fetal complications, and bleeding from the puncture site was not a problem. The present series confirms previous reports suggesting that in the proper hands, cordocentesis for diagnosis is a safe, rapid, and efficient means of obtaining access to the fetal circulation.
authors.forename: C P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Weiner
mesh_terms: D001784:Blood Gas Analysis; D001800:Blood Specimen Collection / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000032:analysis*; D005315:Fetal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D009339:Needles; D011247:Pregnancy; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis / Q000379:methods*; D014463:Ultrasonography