Artúr Beke

By Fanni Rebeka Erős and Artúr Beke

The ultrasound is the most widely used diagnostic tool in obstetrics nowadays, in particular in the detection of developmental disorders. However, it is important to know which are those disorders that can be detected prenatally with great certainty, and which ones can be detected only partially or not at all prior to giving birth. Pregnant women have high expectations, that any abnormalities should be fully recognizable and detected early during pregnancy, and this often leads to damages lawsuits. Thus, the right information is essential, so the doctors providing information also must have up to date knowledge about the effectiveness of ultrasound diagnostics. Prenatal diagnostics also entails enormous medical professional responsibility, since the consequences of an accidental inaccurate diagnosis can have significant consequences for both the fetus and the family. Thus, it is important to determine that how early and in what proportion the ultrasound protocol of the current Hungarian pregnancy care system is able to detect the individual disorder groups.

Part of the book: Congenital Anomalies

By Artúr Beke and Aténé Simonyi

Currently, noninvasive intrauterine screening for most chromosome abnormalities is available, but ultrasound examinations also play an important role during pregnancy, by drawing the attention to the suspect of a possible abnormality. Fetal ultrasound disorders can be classified into two major groups: (1) Major abnormalities are actually diagnosed malformations that are often associated with certain chromosome abnormalities but may be associated with other disorders (multiplex malformation) and may occur as isolated disorders (e.g., cardiac disorders, duodenal atresia, omphalocele, cystic hygroma (CH)). (2) Minor anomalies (“soft markers”) are not abnormal in themselves but are mild abnormalities that may occur in normal pregnancy but also increase the risk of certain chromosome aberrations. The minor anomalies in the second trimester include thickened nuchal fold (NF), mild ventriculomegaly, pyelectasis, hyperechogenic bowels, hyperechogenic papillary muscle, and shorter long bones. Plexus choroid cyst which is classified as a minor marker does not increase the risk of Down syndrome but increases the risk of trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome). We want to emphasize the importance of screening of minor and major ultrasound abnormalities in detecting chromosomal abnormalities in the second trimester.

Part of the book: Chromosomal Abnormalities