title: [Importance of intrauterine diagnosis of rudimentary autonomic circulation in an acardiac twin].
abstract: Foetal acardia is a major complication of twin pregnancies which endangers the life of the healthy twin. The authors report the case of a twin pregnancy with an acardiac twin followed up by repeated echocardiography from the 20th week of pregnancy until delivery at the 36th week. Despite the presence of a parasitic mass, the healthy twin showed no sign of heart failure. Attentive ultrasonography of this mass showed a certain degree of autonomic circulation ensured by a rudimentary cardiac pump. This case confirms the favorable effect of this finding on the healthy twin, moreover, it clarifies some haemodynamic features of the parasitic mass: to-and-fro circulation, characteristic of a cardiac pump without a valve, anastomoses and competitive flow between the two circulatory systems.
authors: Département de pédiatrie, Hôpital Sainte-Justine, Université de Montreal, Québec, Canada.
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Pavlova
authors: J C
authors: JC
authors: Fouron
authors: F
authors: F
authors: Proulx
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Lessard
mesh_terms: D000015:Abnormalities, Multiple / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D000328:Adult; D004200:Diseases in Twins; D015150:Echocardiography, Doppler; D005260:Female; D005318:Fetal Heart / Q000002:abnormalities*; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D014430:Twins, Monozygotic; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal
vernacular_title: Importance de I'observation intra-utérine d'une circulation autonome rudimentaire chez un jumeau acardiaque.