title: Umbilical cord cysts in the first trimester: are they associated with pregnancy complications?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether umbilical cord cysts found by transvaginal sonography in the first trimester of pregnancy are associated with poor pregnancy outcomes.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a matched cohort study between July 2006 and July 2008. Patients with umbilical cord cysts found on transvaginal sonography in the first trimester were matched to patients with normal umbilical cords. After the completion of these pregnancies, medical histories and pregnancy outcomes were reviewed from the hospital's electronic record. Sonograms were reviewed to obtain descriptive information about the umbilical cord cysts. Outcomes between the cohorts were compared.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Forty-five patients with umbilical cord cysts were identified and compared to 85 patients with normal umbilical cords. The mean gestational age of the cysts ± SD at diagnosis was 8 weeks 3 days ± 3.5 days. The mean cyst diameter was 3 ± 2.1 mm. All cysts resolved on follow-up sonography, which was performed between 9 weeks 4 days and 20 weeks 5 days. Patients with umbilical cord cysts were found to have a lower body mass index than those with normal umbilical cords. There was no significant difference in abnormal sonographic findings between cohorts. Five sonographic fetal abnormalities were found in the umbilical cord cyst cohort (11.1%) and 8 in the normal umbilical cord cohort (9.4%). There were 2 intrauterine fetal demises in the umbilical cord cyst cohort and 1 in the normal umbilical cord cohort. There was no difference between the cohorts when comparing gestational age at delivery and birth weight.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There does not appear to be an association between poor pregnancy outcomes and umbilical cord cysts during the first trimester.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tufts Medical Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. karenehannaford@gmail.com
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hannaford
authors.forename: Shane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Reeves
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Wegner
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008404:Massachusetts / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011261:Pregnancy Trimester, First; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014470:Umbilical Cord / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D014496:Urachal Cyst / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D055815:Young Adult