Selective feticide as a treatment of severe preeclampsia in discordant twins

Abstract

Multifetal gestation is often complicated by the development of preeclampsia. In some twin gestations, preeclampsia develops in association with restricted fetal growth of only one fetus. Instead of termination of the entire pregnancy, we investigated an alternative approach to the management of such pregnancies that might allow unharmed survival of the normal twin. We present a case of preeclampsia in twin discordance with severe fetal growth restriction at 25 weeks of gestation. Preeclampsia was linked to a lethal condition in one twin and was treated with selective feticide in an effort to reverse preeclampsia. Inasmuch as the fetal prognosis was extremely poor for the abnormal fetus, selective feticide was a reasonable therapeutic option. Maternal symptoms resolved, allowing continuation of the pregnancy for 4 weeks before delivery of the healthy fetus. We maintain that selective termination induced a decrease in the release of substances involved in the physiopathology of preeclampsia, which allowed the continuation of the pregnancy with close follow-up. This report highlights the link between placental pathology and the disease process of preeclampsia and further supports selective termination as a reasonable management strategy in carefully selected cases of discordant twins.