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Fetal Mouse Cardiovascular Imaging Using a High-frequency Ultrasound (30/45MHZ) System
Published on: May 5, 2018
Cardiovascular evaluation of fetal anemia due to alloimmunization
Jean-Luc Bigras1, Kenji Suda, Nagib S Dahdah
1CHU Sainte-Justine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada. Jean-Luc_Bigras@ssss.gouv.qc.ca
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.
Conclusion:
Standard echocardiograhic parameters are not useful to correlate anemia. The combination of MCA and UAPI improves the accuracy to detect severe anemia.
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