Management of anti-Rhesus-D antibodies in pregnancy: A review from 1994 to 1998

Objective: To review our management of anti-Rhesus-D antibodies in pregnancy over a 5-year period in order to assess possible changes in the management or prognosis which may have developed with time. Method. Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data from 31 pregnancies with maternal anti-D levels >4 IU/ml and in which the fetus was Rhesus positive. Results: There were a total of 30 amniocenteses, 8 cordocenteses, and 54 fetal blood transfusions performed. When undertaken as the first procedure, the mean gestational age at amniocentesis was 30 weeks as compared with 25 weeks for fetal blood sampling/transfusion (p < 0.05). The median anti-D level at the first procedure was 24 IU/ml for amniocentesis and 64 IU/ml for fetal blood sampling. Of the 54 blood transfusions, 43 were intravascular, 4 were intraperitoneal, and 7 transfusions were both intravascular and intra peritonea 1. Conclusions: Intravascular as opposed to intraperitoneal transfusions were found to be the main method of transfusion in the later years in this study, a finding which was expected with improved sonographic equipment. Apart from this, management and prognosis of anti-D red cell isoimmunisation in pregnancy have remained relatively stable since the 1980s. Amniocentesis was useful in the management of such pregnancies, especially as an initial procedure in the cases with a lower initial anti-D level. In this series 90% of the fetuses requiring blood transfusion, but were without hydrops, survived, whereas this was about 70%, if they had become hydropic (this latter figure was reduced by 2 hydropic deaths before 20 weeks' gestation in the same very severely affected woman). Copyright (C) 2001 S. Karger AG, Basel.