Medicaltalks almost 8 years ago

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Hydrops fetalis

This is a case of hydrops fetalis that I kindly took from @mrs_angemi's page because, well, I couldn't resist! Hopefully you guys are already following her neat cases! Hydrops fetalis is an ultrasound marker of a complicated primary condition in the fetus characterized by an accumulation of fluid, or edema, in at least two fetal compartments. These fluid-filled spaces can occur in different fetal body locations , including the abdomen (ascites), heart (pericardial effusion), lungs (pleural effusion), and generalized edema (anasarca). The causes of hydrops vary and come under two divisions, immune and non-immune. Immune occurs when the mother’s immune system attacks the blood cells of the baby (exp. Rh-negative mother carries an Rh-positive baby, and an immune reaction leads to destruction or hemolysis of the baby's RBC's). Non-immune form of hydrops fetalis has many causes including iron deficiency anemia, thalassemia, lysosomal storage diseases, supraventricular tachycardia, and maternal infections with syphilis, cytomegalovirus and parvovirus B19, hyperthyroidism, Turner syndrome and tumors. Blood transfusions can increase the survival rate of such babies.