Ductus venosus versus cerebral transverse sinus Doppler velocimetry for predicting acidemia at birth in pregnancies complicated by placental insufficiency

Dilated cerebral venous system observed in growth-restricted fetuses

PURPOSE

The dilation of the fetal cerebral veins is a rare phenomenon that may be associated to a bad obstetric outcome, and is usually connected to antenatal thrombosis of the posterior dural venous sinuses. There are several descriptions of cerebral vein distension on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), but all of them are detected postnatally. We present herein two cases of fetal antenatal cerebral dilation of the venous system, without any association to any sign of vein thrombosis, and a systematic review of literature regarding pathogenesis, diagnosis and outcomes associated to the antenatal detection of this condition with the use of MRI.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

To identify potentially eligible studies, we searched PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library (all from inception to October 20th, 2016) and applied no language restrictions.

RESULTS

The electronic database search provided a total of 22,843 results. After the exclusion of duplicates, manuscripts that resulted not relevant to the review based on title and abstract screening, and analysis of manuscripts eligible for full-text assessment, no papers were found related to the subject reported in the present manuscript.

CONCLUSIONS

Our report adds importance to MRI as a tool in cases of complex ultrasound finding with the presence of fetal heart failure and deterioration of fetal growth, in order to improve the prognostic evaluation and patient?s counseling.