The cardiovascular profile score in patients with non-immune hydrops fetalis and cardiac anomalies : a pilot study

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore whether the cardiovascular profile score (CVPS) correlates with fetal outcome in patients with non-immune hydrops fetalis (NIHF) and cardiac anomalies. In this retrospective study, we included fetuses with NIHF and the suspicion of a cardiac anomaly in prenatal ultrasound. The CVPS was calculated using information obtained by fetal echocardiographic examination. Feto-neonatal mortality (FNM) was defined as intrauterine fetal demise or death in the first 6 months of life. We reviewed 98 patients, who were referred to the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz with the diagnosis of NIHF between January 2007 and March 2021. By eighteen of them, the suspicion of a cardiac anomaly was raised. After exclusion of six pregnancies (one termination of pregnancy and five because of incomplete data), 12 cases were left for analysis. Mean gestational age at which the CVPS was calculated was 29 + 2 weeks. Two fetuses died in utero. Of the remaining ten hydropic fetuses, three newborns died in the neonatal period, and seven survived after a 6-month surveillance period. Median CVPS of all fetuses was 6 points. Surviving fetuses showed statistically significantly higher CVPS values (median 8 points) than fetuses with FNM (median 5 points, p value = 0.009). Our results point towards a positive association between CVPS and fetal outcome in fetuses with NIHF and cardiac anomalies. The CVPS appears to be a useful marker in the assessment of heart failure in utero.