Neural tube defects--prenatal diagnosis and management
- PMID: 1481301
- PMCID: PMC2448947
Neural tube defects--prenatal diagnosis and management
Abstract
Neural tube defects rank second to congenital heart disease as a major cause of congenital malformation. Recent developments in ultrasound have improved prenatal diagnosis. Due to anomaly scans at 18 weeks gestation and the availability of a genetic clinic, prenatal diagnosis of neural tube defects at the Royal Maternity Hospital was 91.2% during 1987-1989. However, only 50% of parents accept termination of pregnancy and it is questionable if prenatal diagnosis is of benefit to those who wish to continue with the pregnancy. Parents may accept the situation better at birth, having had time to come to terms with it, helped with support from the obstetrician, clinical geneticist, paediatrician, genetic nurse and social worker. For some affected fetuses who have better muscle function and leg movement at term it appears from the literature that the outcome may be improved by caesarean section delivery. In Ireland fetuses with neural tube defects will continue to be delivered, as termination is unacceptable to many, but despite this there may be a positive benefit from prenatal diagnosis of neural tube defects. Prospective randomised controlled trials are needed to confirm benefit from delivery by caesarean section for fetuses with a good prognosis. As a result of prenatal diagnosis of a neural tube lesion the fetus should enjoy benefit in terms of physical morbidity, and the parents should benefit in terms of psychological morbidity.
Similar articles
-
Iniencephaly: prenatal diagnosis and management.Prenat Diagn. 2000 Mar;20(3):202-5. Prenat Diagn. 2000. PMID: 10719321
-
Evaluation of the prenatal diagnosis of neural tube defects by fetal ultrasonographic examination in different centres across Europe.J Med Screen. 2000;7(4):169-74. doi: 10.1136/jms.7.4.169. J Med Screen. 2000. PMID: 11202581
-
Diagnosis and management of neural-tube defects today.N Engl J Med. 1991 Mar 7;324(10):690-1. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199103073241009. N Engl J Med. 1991. PMID: 1994254 No abstract available.
-
[Early echographic diagnosis of omphalocele. 2 case reports and review of the literature].Rev Fr Gynecol Obstet. 1992 Jan;87(1):45-8. Rev Fr Gynecol Obstet. 1992. PMID: 1565950 Review. French.
-
Prenatal diagnosis and management of the fetus with an abdominal wall defect.Semin Perinatol. 1994 Jun;18(3):196-214. Semin Perinatol. 1994. PMID: 7973787 Review.
References
Publication types
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Medical
Research Materials