Do Fetuses Who Are Bradycardic in The First Trimester Reach Term?

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the obstetric and perinatal outcomes of fetuses diagnosed with bradycardia in the first trimester by comparing them with the control group. Material and Method: In this study, which was designed as a retrospective cohort study, 58 pregnant women who were followed up and treated in our hospital and diagnosed with bradycardia in the first trimester were included as the study group. 276 normal pregnant women were included in the study as a control group. For each patient, fetal heart rate, age, parity, number of abortions, gestational week, body mass index (BMI), whether assisted reproductive techniques were used, NT value measured between 11-14 weeks, type of abortion, week of delivery, type of delivery, neonatal intensive care unit admission, number of hospital days, and fetal sex were noted, and the perinatal outcomes of these two groups were compared. Results: The mean age was 27.8 ± 6.1 years in the bradycardic group and 28.2 ± 6.0 years in the control group. The mean value of NT in the first trimester was 1.56 ± 0.61 in the bradycardic group and 1.26 ± 0.34 in the control group, and the NT of the bradycardic group was statistically significantly higher than that of the control group (p < 0.001). Also, when comparing NT values by week, the number of patients with NT above the 95th percentile was 13.8% (n=8) in the bradycardic group and was statistically significantly higher than 1.8% (n=5) in the control group (p < 0.001). In the bradycardic group, 81% (n=47) had an intrauterine exitus before 20 weeks, 12.1% (n=7) were hospitalized with an abortion, and 6.9% (n=4) resulted in a live birth. 2.4% (n=5) of the control group had an intrauterine exitus before the 20th week, 1.4% (n=3) were hospitalized with an abortion, 94.7% (n=197) resulted in a live birth, and 1.4% (n=3) had an intrauterine exit after the 20th week. Conclusion: Worse pregnancy outcomes were found such as abortion, intrauterine exitus, and high NT scores in fetuses who were bradycardic in the first trimester than in normal pregnant women.