A Case of Spina Bifida Diagnosed by Prenatal Ultrasonography.

Lee, Sang Hee; Kim, Jong Seok; Kim, Chung Mee; Kim, Bo Wook; Hwang, Ju Youn; Cho, Hee Young; Kim, Doo Pyo; Lee, Yoon Ho

Case Report

Korean Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology 2004;47(5):996-1000.
Published online May 1, 2004.

A Case of Spina Bifida Diagnosed by Prenatal Ultrasonography.

Sang Hee Lee, Jong Seok Kim, Chung Mee Kim, Bo Wook Kim, Ju Youn Hwang, Hee Young Cho, Doo Pyo Kim, Yoon Ho Lee

¹Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Yonsei University, College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
²Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Andong General Hospital, Andong, Korea.

Abstract

In prenatal diagnosis of neural tube defects, maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (MSAFP) level in second trimester is used as a screening test. However, it shows low sensitivity with high false positive rate. Also, alpha-fetoprotein and acetylcholinesterase in amniotic fluid through amniocentesis is used, but it is an invasive technique with low sensitivity. Recently, due to improved prenatal sonography, typical sonographic findings of spina bifina are reported and contributed to early diagnosis and detection of possible co-existing abnormalities. We report a case of spina bifida detected at 21 weeks of pregnancy by prenatal sonograph at our institution with a brief review of literature.

Key Words: Spina bifida, Prenatal sonography, MSAFP