Evaluation of 2407 fetuses in a Turkish population.
OBJECTIVE
Congenital anomalies and intrauterine fetal death (IUFD) are frequent problems in pregnancies. Detection of the etiology is important for genetic counseling, and presenting the geographic distribution of the causes of disorders is necessary for a national policy on precautions. Here, we report the findings of terminated fetuses due to IUFD and congenital anomalies in Turkish population.


METHODS
Physical examinations of fetuses and genetic evaluations of families were done. X-ray studies and autopsy were done in the event of necessity. Findings of these studies were combined with prenatal ultrasound results. All cases were classified according to ICD-10.


RESULTS
The number of fetuses examined was 2407. Out of these, 1268 fetuses had congenital anomalies. Neurologic anomalies and musculoskeletal system malformations were the most frequent disorders. Specific diagnoses were possible in 64% of all multiple malformation syndromes. Abnormal findings were detected in 18.8% of IUFD fetuses. Nine percent had congenital anomalies and 5.2% had cord complications. The percentage of twins and triplets was 7.5% and 13% of them had anomalies.


CONCLUSIONS
Postmortem evaluation is useful to detect findings necessary for genetic counseling. Our protocol is effective especially in fetuses with congenital anomalies but it can detect only some of the fetal reasons in IUFD cases. A more detailed protocol is needed to investigate IUFD cases.
Ceylaner
Gülay
G
Department of Genetics, Zekai Tahir Burak Women's Hospital, Ankara, Turkey. gulayceylaner@intergen.com.tr
Ceylaner
Serdar
S
Günyeli
Ilker
I
Ekici
Eyüp
E
Celasun
Bülent
B
Danişman
Nuri
N
D037881:Aborted Fetus / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000473:pathology*; D000025:Abortion, Eugenic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001344:Autopsy; D000013:Congenital Abnormalities / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005313:Fetal Death / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D005315:Fetal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis / Q000379:methods; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology