title: Pregnancy outcome of fetuses with trisomy 18 identified by prenatal sonography and chromosomal analysis in a perinatal center.
abstract: To investigate the pregnancy outcome of fetuses affected with trisomy 18, we analyzed 63 cases diagnosed at our hospital from January 1993 to December 2004. Twenty-nine were males and 34 were females. Fifty-eight were prenatally diagnosed, and in 16 (27.6%) of them intrauterine fetal death (IUFD) occurred between 28 weeks and 41 weeks gestation (34.6 +/- 3.9 weeks, Mean +/- SD). Ten (17.2%) fetuses died during labor and their age ranged from 30 weeks to 40 weeks of gestation. The total number of cases ending in fetal demise was 26 (44.8%) and the mean gestational age at the time of fetal demise was 35.0 +/- 3.6 weeks (Mean +/- SD). All liveborn infants (n = 36) were born after 31 weeks gestation. In our study the preterm birth ratio for trisomy 18 is 34.8%, which is much higher than the ratio for the general population. Females are more likely than males to be long-term survivors. These data are helpful in the counseling of parents faced with the difficult decision of whether or not to continue a pregnancy with a fetus affected with trisomy 18.
authors.affiliation: Department of Perinatal Care, Division of Obstetrics, Kanagawa Children's Medical Center, Mutsukawa, Yokohama City, Japan. michikoy@yha.att.ne.jp
authors.forename: Michiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamanaka
authors.forename: Takuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Setoyama
authors.forename: Youko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Igarashi
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kurosawa
authors.forename: Yasufumi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Itani
authors.forename: Sakae
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
authors.forename: Keisuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Saitoh
authors.forename: Miki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takei
authors.forename: Tomoo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hirabuki
mesh_terms: D002887:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 18 / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005315:Fetal Diseases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000401:mortality; D005865:Gestational Age; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D018743:Perinatal Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D015996:Survival Rate; D014314:Trisomy / Q000235:genetics*; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal