The influence of maternal inflammatory bowel diseases on fetal cardiac functions: A case-control study

The altered maternal inflammatory milieu and changes in maternal vascular structure (arterial stiffness) and function may affect the fetal heart in pregnant women diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

To investigate fetal cardiac functions in IBD pregnancies and to reveal the relationship between IBD duration and fetal cardiac functions.

Prospective case-control study.

The case group included 19 pregnant women with ulcerative colitis and seven with Crohn's disease who were in remission at the time of the study. The control group consisted of 52 healthy pregnant women matched for gestational age in the third trimester of pregnancy (at 32 to 33 weeks).

Fetal cardiac functions. The assessment was blinded as to whether the patients were cases or controls.

The right ventricular E', E'/A', S', and tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) were significantly lower, and E/E', myocardial performance index (MPI'), and isovolumetric relaxation time (IVRT') were significantly higher in fetuses of IBD pregnancies. Diastolic functions (E/E', E', E'/A', and IVRT'), systolic functions (S' and TAPSE), and global function (MPI') were changed in the case group. A significantly strong correlation was between maternal disease duration and fetal right ventricle diastolic function parameters (E/E', E, E', E'/A') in the case group (r² = 0.780; p ≤0.001, r² = 0.570; p ≤0.001, r² = 0.604; p ≤0.001, r² = 0.638; p ≤0.001, respectively).

Diastolic and systolic fetal cardiac functions changed in IBD pregnancies. As the disease duration increases, especially fetal cardiac diastolic functions may be affected.