Cordocentesis: A useful method for prenatal diagnosis

Objective. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of cordocentesis for prenatal diagnosis of various fetal diseases. Patients and Methods. Fetal blood sampling was performed in 30 pregnancies from gestational week 19 to 36 for various prenatal diagnoses. We used Aloka SSD-650 real-time ultrasound scanner with 3.5 mHz curvilinear transducer during the procedure. A regular 22-gauge spinal needle was used for fetal blood sampling. Results. Twenty-five cordocenteses were successful at the first attempt. A second attempt of cordocentesis succeeded in three cases. In the remaining two cases, intrahepatic vein sampling and cardiocentesis were employed respectively. The duration of procedure was shorter than 15 minutes in 25 cases. 1-6 ml of fetal blood was obtained from each case. Fetal blood was diluted with amniotic fluid in four samples. Maternal blood contamination never happened. No lethal complication occurred in our series. Conclusion. It is believed that cordocentesis is a safe and useful method for prenatal diagnosis, and intrahepatic vein sampling is an alternative choice when cordocentesis has failed.