Sonographic Transformation of Acrania to Anencephaly

Abstract

ABSTRACT Objective To ascertain that acrania can lead to anencephaly Materials and methods We commenced a cross-sectional study for a period of 41 months from 2013 to 2017. During routine ultrasound examination, we observed multiple cases of acrania in second trimester and third trimester. We followed 26 cases who failed to terminate their pregnancies and visited for reexamination. Changes in the brain matter, amniotic fluid volume, and echogenicity of the acrania fetuses were recorded and compared with the previous examination. Development of anencephaly was correlated with maternal age and advancement of gestational age. All the patients were examined transabdominally according to the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM) guidelines for obstetrical ultrasound. Data were collected from the previous report and recent examination, by evaluating data with the help of IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24 package, and the results were summarized. Results Pregnant women with diagnosed acrania fetus visited second time with a lapse of more than 4 weeks and were enrolled with mean age 25.73 ± 8.80. We observed 4 (15.4%) acrania patients developed into anencephaly. Development of anencephaly was observed to be correlated with the advancement of gestational age. It was observed that acrania is more common in below 20 and above 30 age groups. Haziness of amniotic fluid is also observed to be related with acrania. Conclusion Anencephaly could be caused by multiple factors but acrania can lead to anencephaly with continuous exposure of brain matter and meninges to mechanical trauma and chemical activities of the amniotic fluid. Clinical significance To test the hypothesis of acrania to anencephaly and make a roadmap for upcoming researches on association of acrania with physical, environmental, and genetical factors. How to cite this article Bacha R, Gilani SA, Manzoor I. Sonographic Transformation of Acrania to Anencephaly. Donald School J Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol 2017;11(3):189-196.