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Updated: May 3, 2026

Extrahepatic Bile Duct and Gall Bladder Dissection in Nine-Day-Old Mouse Neonates
Published on: August 23, 2022
[Neonatal outcome of fetal hyperechogenic bowel]
L Maillet1, R C Rudigoz2, R Buffin1
1Service de gynécologie-obstétrique, hospices civils de Lyon, hôpital de la Croix-Rousse, 104, grande rue de la Croix-Rousse, 69004 Lyon cedex 04, France.
Objective:
Echogenic bowel (EB) represents 1 % of pregnancy and is a risk factor of fetal pathology (infection, cystic fibrosis, aneuploidy). The aim of our study was to determine the fetuses' outcomes with isolated EB.
Patients And Methods:
This is a retrospective study of all patients who presented singleton gestations with a fetal isolated echogenic bowel between 2004 and 2011 in two prenatal diagnosis centers. Search of aneuploidy, infection and cystic fibrosis was systematically proposed as well as an ultrasound monitoring.
Results:
On 109 fetus addressed for isolate echogenic bowel five had other signs associated and 74 had a real isolated echogenic bowel (without dilatation, calcification, intrauterine growth restriction). In 30 cases, the EB was not found. Eighty-five percent of the patients had in the first trimester a screening for trisomy 21. None fetus with isolated EB had trisomy, infection or cystic fibrosis. One fetus died in utero and one newborn died of a metabolic disease without digestive repercussions.
Discussion And Conclusion:
The risk of trisomy 21 and the risk to have a serious disease appear low for the fetus with EB. It does not seem necessary to propose a systematic amniocentesis in case of isolated echogenic bowel.

