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Non-immune foetal hydrops: a case report
R D'Amelio1, V Rauccio, J Melluso
1Department of Gynaecological Sciences, Perinatology and Puericulture, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Italy.
Foetal hydrops occurs when a certain amount of interstitial fluid, produced by capillary ultrafiltration, overcomes the amount of interstitial fluid that returns to the blood circulation through the lymphatic system. Hydrops is classified as immune (IH) due to the presence of circulating maternal antibodies against the foetal red blood cell's antigens, and non-immune (NIH) that includes all the other causes of hydrops. This classification is still valid, but only under a clinical point of view because they differ in aetiology and management. In this article the management of a case of non-immune foetal hydrops is described, in which, unlike most other cases of non-immune foetal hydrops, the foetus survived.
Foetal hydrops occurs when a certain amount of interstitial fluid, produced by capillary ultrafiltration, overcomes the amount of interstitial fluid that returns to the blood circulation through the lymphatic system. Hydrops is classified as immune (IH) due to the presence of circulating maternal antibodies against the foetal red blood cell's antigens, and non-immune (NIH) that includes all the other causes of hydrops. This classification is still valid, but only under a clinical point of view because they differ in aetiology and management. In this article the management of a case of non-immune foetal hydrops is described, in which, unlike most other cases of non-immune foetal hydrops, the foetus survived.