[Significance of nuchal edema in fetuses of pregnant women under 35 years of age]

Abstract

The aim of this study was to survey the connection between the fetal nuchal oedema and the increased risk of the aneuploidies. According to the prenatal care the thickness of the nuchal fold was measured on the 11-12th gestational week by 6.5 MHz transvaginal transducer (ATL-HDI and Hitachi EUB-450). Cases were underlined where the presence of nuchal oedema (> or = 3 mm) made the indication for chromosomal analysis among the 280 single pregnancies and fetal karyotyping was carried out. Nuchal oedema was observed in 72/280 cases of pregnant women under 35 years old and in 20/280 cases of that above 35 years old, the nuchal oedema was another indication beside the age. Abnormal karyotype was observed in 9/72 (12.5%) cases among the pregnant women under 35 years old and in 10/92 (10.87%) cases among the pregnancies with fetal nuchal oedema. It was also observed abnormal karyotype in 6/188 (3.19%) cases of pregnancies without nuchal oedema and in 16/280 (5.71%) cases of chromosomal analyses with or without nuchal oedema. This can be an effective method for screening the fetal aneuploidies and other fetal anomalies, both in the high risk and the normal pregnant population, especially in cases of pregnant women under 35 years old belonging to the normal genetical risk population.