Abstract
Aim: The study was designed to document the incidence of non-immune hydrops fetalis (NIHF) at birth and characterise associated outcomes and obstetric complications. Methods: Data on more than 1.9 million births were extracted from the Swedish Birth Register for 1997-2015. Pregnancies not affected by NIHF served as controls. National registers on mortality and hospitalisations provided follow-up information. Results: There were 309 cases of NIHF at birth corresponding to an incidence of 1.6 per 10 000, lower than in previous studies. NIHF was more frequent in mothers aged ≥35 years and with a history of stillbirth. Preterm delivery occurred in 77.7% in the NIHF group, including 31.7% before 32 weeks of gestation. Multiple births and Caesarean sections were reported more frequent in the NIHF group. NIHF was associated with poor outcome with 14.6% stillbirths and in 26.5% early neonatal death. Overall, 58.7% of live-born children with NIHF were alive at 12 months compared with 99.7% of controls. The most common causes of death were cardiovascular diseases and thoracic abnormalities. Conclusion: NIHF at birth is associated with obstetric complications and poor prognosis for the neonate related to underlying disease. The low incidence of NIHF observed in this study may reflect well-developed antenatal care.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 2570-2577 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Acta Paediatrica, International Journal of Paediatrics |
Volume | 109 |
Issue number | 12 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2020 |
Subject classification (UKÄ)
- Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine
Free keywords
- incidence
- non-immune hydrops fetalis
- obstetric complications
- poor prognosis
- population study