Ultrasound diagnosis of fetal anomalies: an analysis of perinatal management of 318 consecutive pregnancies in a multidisciplinary setting.
OBJECTIVE
The objectives of this study are to analyse the perinatal management decisions made in a multidisciplinary setting following the prenatal diagnosis of fetal anomalies and to evaluate to what extent, in clinical practice, decisions about obstetric management are attuned to those about neonatal management.


METHODS
Data on perinatal management of 318 consecutive singleton pregnancies presented to a multidisciplinary perinatal team in a tertiary centre were collected retrospectively.


RESULTS
The multidisciplinary perinatal team decided upon non-aggressive obstetric management in 20% of the cases and consented to termination of pregnancy in 10% of the cases. The multidisciplinary perinatal team decided upon neonatal management in 112(36%) of all fetuses. In 100(89%) of these fetuses, standard neonatal management, and in 12(11%), no neonatal life-sustaining treatment was decided upon. Implementation of the decisions of the multidisciplinary perinatal team on the various management modalities ranged from 88 to 100%.


CONCLUSIONS
The multidisciplinary perinatal team worked well in making decisions about obstetric management. In 30% of the cases, this concerned end-of-life decisions. However, for the majority of cases, the perinatal team did not plan neonatal management before birth and thereby did not attune obstetric and neonatal management to each other. This probably reflects the different attitudes towards end-of-life decisions between obstetricians and neonatologists. However, to ensure a consistent perinatal management, a multidisciplinary perinatal team has to make prenatal decisions about both obstetric and neonatal management.
Bijma
Hilmar H
HH
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Erasmus MC University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. h.bijma@erasmusmc.nl
Schoonderwaldt
Ernst M
EM
van der Heide
Agnes
A
Wildschut
Hajo I J
HI
van der Maas
Paul J
PJ
Wladimiroff
Juriy W
JW
D000328:Adult; D003657:Decision Making; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric; D005260:Female; D005315:Fetal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D008499:Medical Records; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010348:Patient Care Team; D018743:Perinatal Care; D011247:Pregnancy; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal