Fetal hydrops–a review and a clinical approach to identifying the cause

Esther Dempsey*, Tessa Homfray, John M. Simpson, Steve Jeffery, Sahar Mansour, Pia Ostergaard

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Introduction: Fetal hydrops describes abnormal fluid accumulation in two or more extravascular fetal compartments. It is a poor prognostic sign in a fetus, and many will not survive to term. Fetal hydrops is a clinical sign rather than a diagnosis and has a multitude of different causes. Areas covered: This review focusses on nonimmune fetal hydrops. We discuss in detail the most common etiologies such as infection and chromosomal abnormalities and cover rarer presentations of congenital malformation and single-gene disorders. We present a decision tree for the investigation of affected pregnancies. Expert opinion: The current approach to the investigation of fetal hydrops largely revolves around identifying the abnormal pathophysiology via ultrasound imaging. We believe that as genomic testing of a pregnancy can be undertaken with increasing accuracy, speed, accessibility and at reduced cost, genetic testing will feature earlier in the future diagnostic pathway.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)51-66
Number of pages16
JournalExpert Opinion on Orphan Drugs
Volume8
Issue number2-3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 3 Mar 2020
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Keywords

  • Fetal
  • exome
  • genomic
  • hydrops
  • lymphatic
  • nonimmune fetal hydrops
  • noninvasive prenatal diagnosis
  • prenatal
  • rasopathy
  • ultrasound

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