Elevated Middle Cerebral Artery Peak Systolic Velocity in a Nonanemic Fetus with Alpha-Thalassemia Trait

Background. Elevated middle cerebral artery peak systolic velocity (MCA-PSV) has been reported in nonanemic fetuses following fetal transfusion, and has been attributed to a major population of red blood cells (RBCs) with an adult mean corpuscular volume (MCV) in the fetal circulation. Reported here...

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Main Author: Kent Heyborne
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2009-01-01
Series:Obstetrics and Gynecology International
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2009/819380
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author Kent Heyborne
author_facet Kent Heyborne
author_sort Kent Heyborne
collection DOAJ
description Background. Elevated middle cerebral artery peak systolic velocity (MCA-PSV) has been reported in nonanemic fetuses following fetal transfusion, and has been attributed to a major population of red blood cells (RBCs) with an adult mean corpuscular volume (MCV) in the fetal circulation. Reported here is an analogous case of elevated MCA-PSV with a normal fetal hematocrit and relative fetal microcytosis due to fetal α-thalassemia trait. Case. Ultrasound findings concerning for early hydrops prompted measurement of MCA-PSV, which was elevated. Cordocentesis revealed fetal microcytosis with a normal hematocrit which proved to be due to fetal α-thalassemia trait inherited from the mother. Conclusion. This case provides another example of elevated MCA-PSV with normal hematocrit and microcytosis, here due to fetal α-thalassemia trait. This finding provides support for the observation that MCA-PSV may be influenced by hematological indices other than the fetal hematocrit.
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spelling doaj-art-711fa844078c4c9c886c4492d99c8fe02025-02-03T01:32:05ZengWileyObstetrics and Gynecology International1687-95891687-95972009-01-01200910.1155/2009/819380819380Elevated Middle Cerebral Artery Peak Systolic Velocity in a Nonanemic Fetus with Alpha-Thalassemia TraitKent Heyborne0Swedish Medical Center, Denver, CO 80113, USABackground. Elevated middle cerebral artery peak systolic velocity (MCA-PSV) has been reported in nonanemic fetuses following fetal transfusion, and has been attributed to a major population of red blood cells (RBCs) with an adult mean corpuscular volume (MCV) in the fetal circulation. Reported here is an analogous case of elevated MCA-PSV with a normal fetal hematocrit and relative fetal microcytosis due to fetal α-thalassemia trait. Case. Ultrasound findings concerning for early hydrops prompted measurement of MCA-PSV, which was elevated. Cordocentesis revealed fetal microcytosis with a normal hematocrit which proved to be due to fetal α-thalassemia trait inherited from the mother. Conclusion. This case provides another example of elevated MCA-PSV with normal hematocrit and microcytosis, here due to fetal α-thalassemia trait. This finding provides support for the observation that MCA-PSV may be influenced by hematological indices other than the fetal hematocrit.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2009/819380
spellingShingle Kent Heyborne
Elevated Middle Cerebral Artery Peak Systolic Velocity in a Nonanemic Fetus with Alpha-Thalassemia Trait
Obstetrics and Gynecology International
title Elevated Middle Cerebral Artery Peak Systolic Velocity in a Nonanemic Fetus with Alpha-Thalassemia Trait
title_full Elevated Middle Cerebral Artery Peak Systolic Velocity in a Nonanemic Fetus with Alpha-Thalassemia Trait
title_fullStr Elevated Middle Cerebral Artery Peak Systolic Velocity in a Nonanemic Fetus with Alpha-Thalassemia Trait
title_full_unstemmed Elevated Middle Cerebral Artery Peak Systolic Velocity in a Nonanemic Fetus with Alpha-Thalassemia Trait
title_short Elevated Middle Cerebral Artery Peak Systolic Velocity in a Nonanemic Fetus with Alpha-Thalassemia Trait
title_sort elevated middle cerebral artery peak systolic velocity in a nonanemic fetus with alpha thalassemia trait
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2009/819380
work_keys_str_mv AT kentheyborne elevatedmiddlecerebralarterypeaksystolicvelocityinanonanemicfetuswithalphathalassemiatrait