The prenatal diagnosis of fetal heart disease potentially influences parental decision-making regarding pregnancy termination. Existing literature indicates that the severity, whether in complexity or lethality, significantly influences parental decisions concerning abortion. However, questions remain as to how fetal heart disease severity impacts parental decisions, given recent advancements in postsurgical outcomes. Therefore, we investigated risk factors associated with parents\' decision-making regarding abortion following a prenatal diagnosis of fetal heart disease. Our analysis included 73 (terminated: n = 37; continued: n = 36) pregnancies with a fetal heart disease diagnosed before 22 weeks of gestation. Increased gestational age at diagnosis reduced the likelihood of parents\' decision on termination (Model 1: adjusted odds ratio, 0.94; 95% confidence interval 0.89-0.99; Model 2: 0.95 0.90-0.997). Critical disease (5.25; 1.09-25.19) and concurrent extracardiac or genetic abnormalities (Model 1: 4.19, 1.21-14.53; Model 2: 5.47, 1.50-19.96) increased the likelihood of choosing abortion. Notably, complex disease did not significantly influence parental decisions (0.56; 0.14-2.20). These results suggest that parental decision-making regarding abortion may be influenced by earlier gestational age at diagnosis, the lethality of heart disease, and extracardiac or genetic abnormalities, but not its complexity if prenatal diagnosis and parental counseling are provided at a cardiovascular-specialized facility.

UNASSIGNED: The aim of this study is to explore the practical value of prenatal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the assessment of congenital cystic lung disease in fetuses, to evaluate the relative size of the lesion and the status of lung development, and to make an attempt at utilizing the strength of MRI in post-processing to obtain assessment indicators of the size of the lesion and the status of lung development, with which predictions can be made for the prognosis that these fetuses may face after birth. We retrospectively collected and analyzed the data of fetuses diagnosed with congenital cystic lung disease. Prenatal ultrasound examination of these fetuses led to the diagnosis that they were suspected of having congenital cystic lung disease and the diagnosis was confirmed by subsequent prenatal MRI. The fetuses were followed up to track their condition at birth (postnatal respiratory distress, mechanical ventilation, etc.), whether the fetuses underwent surgical treatment, and the recovery of the fetuses after surgical treatment. The recovery of the fetuses was followed up to explore the feasibility of prenatal MRI examination to assess fetal congenital pulmonary cystic disease, and to preliminarily explore the predictive value of prenatal MRI for the prognosis of fetuses with congenital pulmonary cystic disease.
UNASSIGNED: MRI fetal images were collected from pregnant women who attended the West China Second University Hospital of Sichuan University between May 2018 and March 2023 and who were diagnosed with fetal congenital pulmonary cystic disease by prenatal ultrasound and subsequent MRI. Fetal MRI images of congenital cystic lung disease were post-processed to obtain the fetal lung lesion volume, the fetal affected lung volume, the healthy lung volume, and the fetal head circumference measurements. The signal intensity of both lungs and livers, the lesion volume/the affected lung volume, the lesion volume/total lung volume, the cystic volume ratio (CVR), and the bilateral lung-liver signal intensity ratio were measured. The feasibility and value of MRI post-processing acquisition indexes for evaluating the prognosis of fetuses with congenital cystic lung disease were further analyzed by combining the follow-up results obtained 6 months after the birth of the fetus. Logistic regression models were used to quantify the differences in maternal age, gestational week at the time of MRI, CVR, and bilateral lung-to-liver signal intensity ratio, and to assess whether these metrics correlate with poor prognosis. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to assess the value of the parameters obtained by MRI calculations alone and in combination with multiple metrics for predicting poor prognosis after birth.
UNASSIGNED: We collected a total of 67 cases of fetuses diagnosed with congenital cystic lung disease by fetal MRI between May 2018 and March 2023, and excluded 6 cases with no normal lung tissue in the affected lungs, 11 cases of fetal induction, and 3 cases of loss of pregnancy. In the end, 47 cases of fetuses with congenital cystic lung disease were included, of which 30 cases had a good prognosis and 17 cases had a poor prognosis. The difference in the difference between the signal intensity ratios of the affected and healthy sides of the lungs and livers of the fetuses in the good prognosis group and that in the poor prognosis group was statistically significant (P<0.05), and the signal intensity ratio of the healthy side of the lungs and livers was higher than the signal intensity ratio of the affected side of the lungs and livers. Further analysis showed that CVR (odds ratio [OR]=1.058, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.014-1.104), and the difference between the lung-to-liver signal intensity ratios of the affected and healthy sides (OR=0.814, 95% CI: 0.700-0.947) were correlated with poor prognosis of birth in fetuses with congenital cystic lung disease. In addition, ROC curve analysis showed that the combined application of lesion volume/affected lung volume and the observed difference in the signal intensity ratio between the affected and healthy lungs and liver predicted the prognosis of children with congenital cystic lung disease more accurately than the single-parameter judgment did, with the area under the curve being 0.988, and the cut-off value being 0.33, which corresponded to a sensitivity of 100%, a specificity of 93.3%, and a 95% CI of 0.966-1.000.
UNASSIGNED: Based on the MRI of fetuses with congenital cystic lung disease, we obtained information on lesion volume, lesion volume/affected lung volume, lesion volume/total lung volume, CVR, and bilateral lung-to-liver signal intensity ratio difference, all of which showing some clinical value in predicting the poor prognosis in fetuses with congenital cystic lung disease. Furthermore, among the combined indexes, the lesion volume/affected lung volume and bilateral lung-to-liver signal intensity ratio difference are more effective predictors for the poor prognosis of fetuses with congenital cystic lung disease, and show better efficacy in predicting the poor prognosis of fetuses with congenital cystic lung disease. This provides a new and effective predictive method for further assessment of pulmonary lung development in fetuses with congenital cystic lung disease, and helps improve the assessment and prediction of the prognosis of fetuses with congenital cystic lung disease.

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Skeletal dysplasias (SDs) are a diverse group of genetic disorders. Diagnosis can be difficult as many are rare and with varied presentations, but with knowledge of the most common SDs presenting prenatal and with an algorithm that uses both sonographic and MR imaging techniques, directed genetic testing and counseling can be provided for many families.

Fetal MR imaging has been shown to be a useful tool for the diagnosis of fetal gastro-intestinal pathologies. To recognize the various pathologies, it is, however, essential to know the normal MR imaging appearance of the fetal bowel at various gestational ages. By providing additional information to ultrasound in case of a fetal gastrointestinal anomaly, MR imaging helps to improve planning for the delivery, postnatal management, and improves parental counseling.

This article provides the readers with practical guidance on how to perform fetal MR imaging, including technical considerations such as scanner field strength and use of appropriate radiofrequency receive coils, and summarizes the role, strengths, and limitations of the various MR imaging sequences. The authors review the various factors to consider in scan preparation, including study indication, timing, maternal preparation, and the creation of an institutional fetal imaging protocol. Additional factors that go into scan optimization during acquisition including prioritizing maternal comfort and ways to troubleshoot various artifacts that maybe encountered in fetal imaging are discussed.

This review covers the embryology, definition, and diagnosis of open spinal dysraphism with a focus on fetal ultrasound and MR imaging findings. Differentiating open versus closed spinal dysraphic defects on fetal imaging will also be discussed. Current fetal surgery practices and imaging findings in the context of fetal surgery are also reviewed.

Medical imaging, particularly fetal MR imaging, has undergone a transformative shift with the introduction of 3 Tesla (3T) clinical MR imaging systems. The utilization of higher static magnetic fields in these systems has resulted in remarkable advancements, including superior soft tissue contrast, improved spatial and temporal resolution, and reduced image acquisition time. Despite these notable benefits, safety concerns have emerged, stemming from the elevated static magnetic field strength, amplified acoustic noise, and increased radiofrequency power deposition. This article provides an overview of fetal MR imaging at 3T, its benefits and drawbacks, and the potential safety issues.

OBJECTIVE: To assess congenital fetal bradyarrhythmias with regard to etiological causes, features, risk factors, and prognosis.
METHODS: This retrospective study involved fetuses with fetal bradyarrhythmias. All fetuses were evaluated by ultrasonography. Parental ECGs and family histories were obtained, and maternal autoantibodies were measured. Gestational age at diagnosis, fetal atrial and ventricular rates at presentation, type of bradyarrhythmias, the presence or absence of a congenital heart defect (CHD), fetal hydrops, fetal myocardial dysfunction, extra-cardiac abnormalities, maternal autoimmune diseases, maternal autoantibodies as well as prenatal treatment, and neonatal outcome were collected.
RESULTS: Of the 40 fetuses included in the study, 11 had maternal rheumatologic disease, 16 had complex cardiac anomalies such as left and right isomerism. Fetuses with CHD significantly differed from those without CHD with increased rates of extra-cardiac anomalies, hydrops, fetal deaths and shorter survival after 28 days (p<0.05). Survival was significantly better in fetuses with maternal rheumatic disease as compared with those with no maternal rheumatic disease (p<0.05). Maternal anti-arrhythmic therapy was administered in 11 fetuses. In utero maternal treatment resulted in no significant difference in the course of arrhythmia or hydrops in fetuses with or without maternal rheumatic disease (p<0.05). In regression analysis, the absence of fetal hydrops was the only independent factor associated with survival (p=0.04).
CONCLUSIONS: The course of bradyarrhythmias, along with survival, seems to be more favorable in fetuses with maternal rheumatic disease than in those with CHD, especially left and right isomerism. Hydrops was the sole independent factor associated with poor survival.