Cardiovascular evaluation of fetal anemia due to alloimmunization.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the cardiovascular impact of fetal anemia.


METHODS
We reviewed 53 echo-Doppler studies from 24 fetuses with anemia due to alloimmunization.


RESULTS
There was no difference between the severe and nonsevere anemia for heart rate, cardiothoracic ratio, and contractility. There was an increased left ventricular dimension, peak velocities of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) and a decreased pulsatility index of the umbilical artery (UAPI) in the severe group. The combination of MCA and UAPI had a high sensitivity (86%), specificity (91%), positive (80%) and negative (94%) predictive value as well as positive predictive likelihood ratio (9.6) to detect severe anemia.


CONCLUSIONS
Standard echocardiograhic parameters are not useful to correlate anemia. The combination of MCA and UAPI improves the accuracy to detect severe anemia.
Bigras
Jean-Luc
JL
CHU Sainte-Justine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada. Jean-Luc_Bigras@ssss.gouv.qc.ca
Suda
Kenji
K
Dahdah
Nagib S
NS
Fouron
Jean-Claude
JC