The outcome and course of pregnancies complicated with fetal neural tube defects

The objectives of this study were as follows: to present the course and outcome of pregnancies complicated with neural tube defects, determine the association between prenatal ultrasound diagnoses, and definitive diagnoses after autopsy.

The survey was designed as a retrospective study and included 24 pregnant women who were attending a regular ultrasound examinations at the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Clinical Center of Serbia, or patients who were referred from other institutions in Serbia.

Neural tube defects are divided into five subgroups: spina bifida, meningocele, myelomeningocele, acranius, and anencephaly. The most frequent in the present study was spina bifida with 67%. All pregnancies complicated with neural tube defects were terminated.

Their clinical severity and uncertain cause make them priorities for further research, whether to better target primary preventive measures, to improve in-utero surgery for prenatal repair, or to identify the causative genes to provide an objective basis for individual genetic counselling.