[Assessment of the correlation between hemoglobin concentration and the echographic measurement of biventricular outer diameter in anemic fetuses of isoimmunized women].
OBJECTIVE
To assess whether a significant correlation exists between the echographic measurement of biventricular outer diameter and the pretransfusional serum concentration of fetal hemoglobin and whether that echographic measurement can be used as a noninvasive marker of fetal anemia.


METHODS
A prospective cross-sectional study was carried out comprising 65 cordocenteses performed in 36 anemic fetuses of mothers with isoimmunization to the Rh antigen. The biventricular outer diameter (BOD) was obtained by M-mode evaluation. Previous to the transfusion, a 0.5-mL fetal blood sample was obtained for hemoglobin measurement with spectrophotometry in the Hemocue device. The minimum square regression was used with p < 0.05 and multivariate analysis were used as statistical analysis.


RESULTS
An inverse correlation was observed between the fetal hemoglobin concentration before transfusion and the BOD measurement, and a direct correlation was observed between the BOD measurement and gestational age. In addition, multivariate analysis showed that fetal hemoglobin concentration decreases as BOD increases, independently of the influence of gestational age on that parameter.


CONCLUSIONS
An inverse correlation exists between fetal hemoglobin concentration and BOD measurement, regardless of gestational age. The findings suggest that BOD may become an echographic predictor of the hemoglobin level of fetuses of isoimmunized pregnant women.
Rodrigues
Rosangela Lopes Miranda
RL
Centro de Medicina Fetal, Hospital das Clínicas, UFMG, Belo Horizonte, MG. rosalmr@terra.com.br
Pereira
Alamanda Kfoury
AK
Taveira
Marcos Roberto
MR
Melo
Isabela Gomes de
IG
Osanan
Gabriel Costa
GC
Cabral
Antônio Carlos Vieira
AC
D000740:Anemia / Q000097:blood / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000379:methods*; D016021:Epidemiologic Studies; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000737:chemistry*; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D010092:Oximetry; D011247:Pregnancy; D012203:Rh Isoimmunization / Q000097:blood*
D015415:Biomarkers; D006454:Hemoglobins