Pregnancy outcomes and neurodevelopment in 173 cases of mild or moderate fetal ventriculomegaly

Abstract

Objective To investigate pregnancy outcomes and neurodevelopment in fetuses with ventriculomegaly. Methods This was a cohort study of 173 gravidas with singleton pregnancy who were diagnosed with fetal ventriculomegaly by ultrasound in Prenatal Diagnostic Center of Nanfang Hospital Affiliated to Southern Medical University from March 2010 to July 2016. Thirty normal gravidas who received antenatal care in the same hospital and at the same period were selected as control. Clinical data were collected. Gravidas who had chosen to continue their pregnancy were followed up to monitor the variations of fetal ventricular. Fetal mild and moderate ventriculomegaly were respectively defined as a ventricular atrial width of 10-12 mm and >12 mm but <15 mm. Isolated ventriculomegaly (IVM) indicated those without any other ultrasound abnormalities, otherwise the case would be defined as non-isolated ventriculomegaly (NIVM). Among the 173 gravidas, 54 cases were mild IVM, 53 mild NIVM, 26 moderate IVM and 40 moderate NIVM. Fetuses with chromosome abnormalities were excluded from the study. Neonatal behavioral neurological assessment (NBNA) was used to analyze the neonatal neurodevelopment at the age of 7 days, and Bayley scales of infant development was used to evaluate the development of nervous system at the age of 6 months through analyzing their mental development index (MDI) and psychomotor development index (PDI). Statistical methods included t test, χ2 test (or Fisher's exact test), nonparametric test, Mann-Whitney test and multiple Kruskal-Wallis H test. Results (1) Among the 107 fetuses with mild ventriculomegaly, 72.9% (78), 23.4% (25) and 3.7% (4) of them regressed, stabilized and progressed,respectively; however, among the 66 moderate cases, the figures were 45.4% (30), 37.9% (25) and 16.7% (11) respectively (χ2=15.769, P 0.05). Conclusions Prognosis of fetal ventriculomegaly is affected by co-existed abnormalities and intrauterine progression. Fetus with mild ventriculomegaly can also have risk of abnormal neural development, suggesting that we should pay much attention to such cases and a regular follow-up is required. Key words: Ventriculomegaly; Pregnancy outcome; Central nervous system; Ultrasonography, prenatal; Follow-up studies