title: Risk of death in pregnancy achieved through oocyte donation in patients with Turner syndrome: a national survey.
abstract: To determine the risk of death in pregnant women with Turner syndrome who were treated with oocyte donation, and to ascertain the prevalence of preconception cardiac screening in these patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Survey and literature review.
  
  
  METHODS
  Academic infertility center.
  
  
  METHODS
  All 258 donor-egg programs in the 1997 Assisted Reproductive Technology Success Rates publication from the Society for Artificial Reproductive Technology were surveyed by fax or telephone.
  
  
  METHODS
  Death in pregnancy conceived through oocyte donation and proportion of patients prescreened with echocardiography.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One hundred thirty-four (52%) programs reported 146 Turner patients treated, resulting in 101 pregnancies. One patient died from aortic rupture while awaiting treatment; 72 (49.3%) patients were pre- screened with echocardiography. No deaths in pregnancy were reported. A literature review identified four case reports of Turner patients who died during pregnancy in the United States during the same time period.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The maternal risk of death from rupture or dissection of the aorta in pregnancy may be 2% or higher. Patients with Turner syndrome have not been adequately screened with echocardiography before treatment. Specialists who treat patients with Turner syndrome need to be aware of their cardiac risk and its potential exacerbation from the increased cardiac demands of pregnancy.
authors.affiliation: Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston IVF, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Megan Freebury
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Karnis
authors.forename: Alison Elizabeth
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Zimon
authors.forename: Sasmira Indru
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Lalwani
authors.forename: Lorna Smink
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Timmreck
authors.forename: Sigal
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Klipstein
authors.forename: Richard Henry
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Reindollar
mesh_terms: D000784:Aortic Dissection / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality*; D017542:Aneurysm, Ruptured / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality*; D001014:Aortic Aneurysm / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018587:Oocyte Donation; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000401:mortality*; D012307:Risk Factors; D014424:Turner Syndrome / Q000150:complications*