Link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29720002

J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med. 2019 Nov;32(21):3531-3536. doi: 10.1080/14767058.2018.1465920. Epub 2018 May 2.
Early prenatal ultrasound diagnosis of congenital thoracic malformations.
Bentur L1,2, Gur M1, Pollak M1,3, Masarweh K1, Solt I2,4, Bronshtein M2,4.
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Abstract
Objectives: To evaluate and describe the spectrum and rate of congenital thoracic malformations (CTMs) diagnosed by early prenatal sonography (gestational age (GA) less than 16 weeks). Methods: A retrospective, cross-sectional analysis of prenatal ultrasound screening tests in a community-based clinic. Results: In 2001-2017, 31 261 prenatal ultrasound tests detected 31 CTMs at a gestational age of 15.2 (range, 11.6-16.0) weeks. The most common malformation was congenital pleural effusion (CPE) (15 fetuses, 0.48/1000), followed by congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) (10 fetuses, 0.32/1000). Pulmonary hypoplasia (PH), congenital pulmonary airway malformation and broncho-pulmonary sequestration appeared in much smaller proportions (three, two and one fetuses, respectively). Most CTMs were associated with additional fetal lesions (15 fetuses, 48%). All early CDH (10 fetuses) and PH (three fetuses) and 6/15 with CPE had termination of pregnancy or missed abortions. Conclusions: Prenatal ultrasound before 16 GA was able to detect CTMs in 0.99/1000 of screening ultrasound (US) performed. Most CTMs tended to appear with multiple lesions and were associated with unfavorable outcomes. Earlier prenatal diagnosis may enable early termination of pregnancy in fetuses with lethal malformations.

KEYWORDS:
Early diagnosis; malformations of the thorax; prenatal; sonography

PMID: 29720002 DOI: 10.1080/14767058.2018.1465920