Non-immune hydrops fetalis: A retrospective analysis of 151 autopsies performed at a single center

Abstract

We retrospectively evaluated autopsies performed on 151 non-immune hydropsfetalis (NIHF) cases to determine the etiology and pathological findings.Further, cases identified between 1980 and 2004 were compared with thoseidentified between 2005 and 2015 to investigate the improvement of diagnosticperformance of our institution. The mean gestational age during the fetalautopsy was 25 weeks. There were 30 live-born infants in the study group.The etiology of NIHF could be determined in 91 cases (60.3%), while itremained undefined in remaining 60 cases. The most commonly associatedpathological conditions were cardiovascular malformations (11.3%), followedby chromosomal abnormalities (9.3%). Prior to 20th gestation week, geneticanomalies and cystic hygromas were the most common etiological factors,and after 30 weeks of gestation, cardiac abnormalities were found to bethe most common causes. With time, the rate of undefined cases decreasedfrom 48.4% to 33.75%. NIHF is a complex medical condition necessitating amultidisciplinary management approach. Progress in molecular genetics andimaging techniques is expected to improve diagnostic performance for rapidand better identification.