Clinical significance and prognosis of fetal arrhythmias.
OBJECTIVE
To explore fetal arrhythmia clinical significance and its correlation with fetal prognosis.


METHODS
Twenty-six cases of fetal arrhythmia detected among 12,799 pregnant women recorded over a ten-year period in Peking Uinon Medical College (PUMC) Hospital were reviewed retrospectively. Fetal arrhythmia was diagnosed by fetal auscultation, ultrasonography, electric fetal heart monitoring, and fetal echocardiography.


RESULTS
Twenty-six fetuses were documented with fetal arrhythmia (3 tachycardia, 4 bradycardia, 19 normal heart rate with irregular fetal cardiac rhythm). The incidence of fetal arrhythmia in our hospital was 0.2%. They were diagnosed at the average of 35 weeks' gestation (15 to 41 weeks). Twenty-two cases were diagnosed by antenatal fetal auscultation, 1 case was diagnosed by ultrasonography, and 3 cases were diagnosed by electric fetal heart monitoring. Fetal echocardiograms were performed on 17 fetuses, 6 cases (35.3%) of which showed that ventricular premature beats with normal structure of fetal heart. All neonates survived postnatally and 24 of them (92.3%) were followed up. Echocardiograms were performed for 16 neonates and 2 of them were identified as atrial septal defects with normal heart rhythms. The results of follow-up showed that the two patients had no apparent clinical manifestation. The echocardiogram showed that atrial septal defect obliterated already.


CONCLUSIONS
The prognosis is well for most of the fetuses with arrhythmias, with low incidence of heart deformation.
Fan
Qing-bo
QB
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100730.
Gai
Ming-ying
MY
Yang
Jian-qiu
JQ
Xing
Fei-fei
FF
D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004452:Echocardiography; D005260:Female; D005315:Fetal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006326:Heart Auscultation / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011247:Pregnancy; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal