Long-term neurodevelopmental outcome after fetal arrhythmia

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the long-term neurodevelopmental outcome in fetuses with severe tachy- or bradyarrhythmia. This was a follow-up study to assess the neurologic, mental, and psychomotor development in cases with fetal cardiac arrhythmia. A total of 44 fetuses were diagnosed with fetal tachy- or bradyarrhythmia: 28 fetuses had supraventricular tachycardia (SVT); 7 fetuses had atrial flutter (AF), and 9 fetuses had atrioventricular block (AVB). The mortality rate was low (6%; 2/35 fetuses) in the SVT and AF groups and high in the AVB group (78%; 7/9 fetuses). Six patients were lost to follow-up evaluation (14%). Neurodevelopmental outcome was normal in all survivors in the SVT and AF groups, except for 1 patient who experienced plexus brachialis injury because of shoulder dystocia. Two of the 3 survivors in the AVB group had severe developmental delay. The mortality rate and neurodevelopmental impairment in infants with SVT and AF are low, but the mortality rate in infants with AVB is elevated.