Pregnancy Outcomes of Non-Visualization of the Fetal Gallbladder from a Chinese Tertiary Single Centre and Literature Review

Abstract

Objection: To explore the clinical features and prognosis of non-visualization of the fetal gallbladder (NVFGB).

Methods: Sixty-five cases diagnosed with NVFGB in the Peking University First Hospital were collected retrospectively from January 2019 to December 2020.

Results: Forty-nine cases were successfully followed up. Among them, the gallbladder of 21 fetuses (42.9%) was present in the later pregnancy. In the rest 28 cases (57.1%), the gallbladders were absent during the whole pregnancy. Eleven of twenty-eight fetuses (39.3%) with NVFGB were complicated with other structural anomalies. In the remaining 17 cases of isolated NVFGB (60.7%) during the whole pregnancy, there was one case of congenital biliary atresia, three cases of a small gallbladder, one case of gallstone and one case of the gallbladder with several septa inside. A total of nine cases (18.4%) underwent prenatal diagnosis, four of which revealed abnormal copy number variant (CNV) results.

Conclusion: Nearly half of NVFGB could be noted during the later pregnancy. The persistent NVFGB during the pregnancy has a higher risk to complicate gallbladder abnormality, other structural anomalies and abnormal CNV results. Other structures, especially the heart, gastrointestinal and urinary system, should be carefully examined when NVFGB is suspected.

Keywords: non-visualization of the fetal gallbladder (NVFGB); pregnancy outcomes; prognosis.

Figure 1

Image of the fetal gallbladder (white arrow) noted using 2D ultrasound with and without color.