Umbilical vein thrombosis as a possible cause of perinatal morbidity or mortality: report of two cases.
Significant occlusion of the lumen of the umbilical vein by thrombus was observed in 2 patients with unexplained intrauterine fetal death (IUFD)/fetal distress. Although a normal non-stress testing result was obtained 7 days prior to IUFD in one patient, IUFD was noted during regular antenatal care at 39 weeks of gestation; intrapartum abrupt onset of deceleration in fetal heart rate pattern was observed at 40 weeks of gestation, lasting 14 min until vacuum extractor-assisted delivery in the other patient. Umbilical vein thrombosis was considered contributory to IUFD and the abrupt deterioration in fetal heart rate pattern in these 2 patients. Histological examination of the umbilical cord is thus important in unexplained fetal death/fetal distress.
Minakami
H
H
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Jichi Medical School Hospital, Tochigi, Japan.
Akahori
A
A
Sakurai
S
S
Yamauchi
A
A
Sato
I
I
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005313:Fetal Death / Q000209:etiology*; D005316:Fetal Distress / Q000209:etiology; D005865:Gestational Age; D006340:Heart Rate, Fetal; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D014471:Umbilical Veins / Q000473:pathology; D020246:Venous Thrombosis / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology