Prenatal diagnosis of fetal chromosomal abnormalities: report of an 18-year experience in a Brazilian public hospital

The study of the fetal karyotype became an important tool for the fetal diagnosis of genetic diseases in the 1970s. Although application of this test has remained very restricted in Brazil, we had 905 referrals for prenatal fetal karyotyping between 1989 and 2007. In 879 cases, a fetal karyotype was...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inGenetics and molecular biology Vol. 31; no. 4; pp. 829 - 833
Main Authors Kessler, Rejane G., Sanseverino, Maria Teresa V., Leistner-Segal, Sandra, Magalhães, José A.A., Giugliani, Roberto
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Sociedade Brasileira de Genética 01.12.2008
Subjects
BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
chromosomal abnormalities
fetal malformations
GENETICS & HEREDITY
prenatal diagnosis
prenatal diagnosis
fetal malformations
chromosomal abnormalities
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Summary:The study of the fetal karyotype became an important tool for the fetal diagnosis of genetic diseases in the 1970s. Although application of this test has remained very restricted in Brazil, we had 905 referrals for prenatal fetal karyotyping between 1989 and 2007. In 879 cases, a fetal karyotype was obtained. We detected 74 abnormal karyotypes (8.4%), the majority being found when the prior indication was fetal malformation. When obtaining amniotic fluid or chorionic villus samples was difficult, alternative fetal materials (urine, cystic hygroma, cystic lung, intreperitoneal and cerebrospinal fluids) were collected and we had success in obtaining karyotypes in all 13 cases. Although, the option of terminating abnormal pregnancies does not legally exist in Brazil, the information gained in assessing the prognosis of on-going pregnancies or estimating recurrence risks justifies prenatal diagnosis of chromosome abnormalities. We conclude that, in keeping with the policy in most other countries, prenatal cytogenetic analysis is strongly recommended in high-risk pregnancies for fetal abnormalities. However, the unique aspect of this type of study is not its rarity in world terms, but its rarity in Brazil. This argues that Brazilian health policy on prenatal diagnosis requires reforming to make it much more widely available within the public health care sector.
ISSN:1415-4757
1678-4685
1415-4757
1678-4685
DOI:10.1590/S1415-47572008000500004