Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Jul 6, 2023; 11(19): 4544-4552
Published online Jul 6, 2023. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v11.i19.4544
Analysis of characteristic features in ultrasound diagnosis of fetal limb body wall complex during 11-13+6 weeks
Cai-Hong Ye, Shuo Li, Li Ling
Cai-Hong Ye, Department of Ultrasound, Yijishan Hospital Wannan Medical College, Wuhu 241001, Anhui Province, China
Shuo Li, Department of Ultrasound, Wannan Medical College, Wuhu 241001, Anhui Province, China
Li Ling, Department of Obstetrics, Wannan Medical College, Wuhu 241001, Anhui Province, China
Author contributions: Ye CH contributed to the conception and design, administrative support, and manuscript writing; Ye CH and Ling L contributed to the provision of study materials or patients; all authors contributed to the data collection and assembly; Li S contributed to the data analysis and interpretation; All authors contributed to the final approval of manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: The study was approved by Institutional Review Board of Yijishan Hospital, Wannan Medical College.
Informed consent statement: All study participants, or their legal guardian, provided informed written consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Data sharing statement: The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Cai-Hong Ye, Doctor, MM, Associate Chief Physician, Deputy Director, Department of Ultrasound, Yijishan Hospital Wannan Medical College, No. 2 Zheshan West Road, Wuhu 241001, Anhui Province, China. ychyjsyy@163.com
Received: April 14, 2023
Peer-review started: April 14, 2023
First decision: April 26, 2023
Revised: May 3, 2023
Accepted: May 23, 2023
Article in press: May 23, 2023
Published online: July 6, 2023
Processing time: 77 Days and 2.4 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Limb body wall complex (LBWC) is a fatal malformation characterized by major defects in the fetal abdominal or thoracic wall, visceral herniation, significant scoliosis or spina bifida, limb deformities, craniofacial deformities, and umbilical cord abnormalities (short or absent umbilical cord). Early diagnosis of this condition is of great clinical significance for clinical intervention and pregnancy decision-making. With the rapid development of fetal ultrasound medicine, early pregnancy (11-13+6 wk) standardized prenatal ultrasound examinations have been widely promoted and applied.

AIM

To explore the value of prenatal ultrasound in the diagnosis of fetal LBWC syndrome during early pregnancy.

METHODS

The ultrasonographic data and follow-up results of 18 cases of fetal LBWC diagnosed by prenatal ultrasound during early pregnancy (11-13+6 wk) were retrospectively analyzed, and their ultrasonographic characteristics were analyzed.

RESULTS

Among the 18 fetuses with limb wall abnormalities, there were spinal dysplasia (18/18, 100%), varying degrees of thoracoschisis and gastroschisis (18/18, 100%), limb dysplasia in 6 cases (6/18, 33%), craniocerebral malformations in 4 cases (4/18, 22%), thickening of the transparent layer of the neck in 5 cases (5/18, 28%), and umbilical cord abnormalities in 18 cases (18/18, 100%), single umbilical artery in 5 cases.

CONCLUSION

Prenatal ultrasound in early pregnancy can detect LBWC as early as possible, and correct prenatal evaluation provides important guidance value for pregnancy decision-making and early intervention.

Keywords: Early pregnancy; Ultrasonography; Limb body wall complex; Fetus

Core Tip: Limbs-body wall complex (LBWC) is a fatal malformation characterized by severe defects in the abdominal or chest wall of the fetus, resulting in protruding viscera, severe scoliosis or spina bifida, limb deformities, craniofacial malformations, and abnormal umbilical cord (short or absent). Our study focuses on the significance of using prenatal ultrasound in detecting LBWC during early pregnancy, where we also provide a retrospective analysis of ultrasound data and post-abortion consequences of 18 confirmed cases of LBWC. We aim to investigate further and identify the ultrasound characteristics of LBWC in early pregnancy to enhance our knowledge of this condition.