Antenatal management and outcomes of gastroschisis in the U.K

The birth prevalence of gastroschisis is increasing worldwide, yet little evidence exists concerning the optimal monitoring strategies after diagnosis. The aim of this study was to describe the U.K. prevalence, antenatal management and outcomes of affected pregnancies.

Cases were identified throughout the U.K. between October 2006 and September 2007, using three different sources.

The overall birth prevalence of gastroschisis was 4.2 cases per 10, 000 total births (95% CI 3.6-4.8). Infants were variably monitored with growth scans (90%), umbilical artery Doppler ultrasound (85%), cardiotocography (65%) and biophysical profile (27%). Bowel measurements were undertaken for only 113 infants (52%). Eighty-nine women (43%) were induced and 63 (31%) laboured spontaneously. Eleven women (5%) had an elective caesarean delivery where the sole indication was fetal gastroschisis.

The variability in management and paucity of evidence on antenatal monitoring approaches suggests there may be a place for randomised trials of fetal surveillance strategies in order to develop the evidence to improve outcomes for the at-risk fetus with gastroschisis. This study suggests that case ascertainment by regional congenital anomaly registers is high; extension of the coverage of these registers to the entire cohort of U.K. births would facilitate ongoing surveillance and research.