Management and Outcomes of Fetal Hydrops in a Tertiary Care Centre in Singapore.
Introduction: Fetal hydrops is a serious condition which can be caused by immune and non-immune aetiologies. We aimed to review the management of fetal hydrops at our hospital.Materials and Methods: A retrospective review of all cases of fetal hydrops diagnosed in our institution from 2006 to 2013 was carried out.Results: Out of the 30 cases of fetal hydrops diagnosed antenatally, 17 were cases of Bart's hydrops which were all terminated in-utero. Of the remaining 13 cases, 11 cases consisted of non-immune causes of hydrops. Planned antenatal interventions including in-utero blood transfusions (n = 4) and thoracentesis (n = 5) as well as planned caesarean deliveries (n = 11) were performed in the majority of cases. Postnatal neonatal intensive care with interventions including chest drainage and transfusions were also performed. A majority, 92%, of the cases survived the perinatal period following a variable length of hospital stay ranging from a week to 3 months.Conclusion: Management of fetal hydrops is complex. Close coordination between the obstetric and neonatal teams was the key to good short-term survival of neonates with antenatally diagnosed hydrops, as it allows timely antenatal intervention and anticipation of potential perinatal complications.
Department of Paediatrics, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University Singapore, Singapore.
Xin Yi
XY
Thong
Le Ye
LY
Lee
Dawn Ak
DA
Chia
Yee Chee
YC
Wong
Arijit
A
Biswas
D000028:Abortion, Induced; D001803:Blood Transfusion; D002585:Cesarean Section; D019468:Disease Management; D004322:Drainage; D005260:Female; D046128:Fetal Therapies; D006455:Hemoglobins, Abnormal; D006801:Humans; D015160:Hydrops Fetalis / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal; D011247:Pregnancy; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012846:Singapore; D015996:Survival Rate; D062606:Tertiary Care Centers; D000069258:Thoracentesis; D017085:alpha-Thalassemia / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications
D006455:Hemoglobins, Abnormal; C030448:hemoglobin Bart's