Transabdominal Amnioinfusion in Oligohydramnios

Park, S H; Hwang, W Y; Hong, S J; Roh, S H; Kim, E S; Kim, M Y; Ryu, H M; Han, H W

Abstract

Oligohydramnios poses not only a diagnostic challenge but also a dilemma of management for the obstetrician. The general outcome is usually poor, no matter what causes the oligohydramnios. Recent preliminary studies have suggested that antepartum transabdominal amnioinfusion has both diagnostic and therapeutic roles in oligohydramnios. To evaluate the safety and efficacy of this procedure, we performed 19 antepartum amnioinfusion in 12cases of pregnancy complicated by oligohydramnios. Infusion(mean volume 494 ml, range 200~800 ml) significantly increased the deepest pool of amniotic fliud to a mean of 5.71 cm(p<0.005). We confirmed vaginal leakage indicating ruptured membranes in 3patients among 5cases of unknown cause of oligohydramnios. Twelve serial infusions were performed in 5 patients in order to prolong gestation long enough to improve neonatal outcome. In neonatal outcome after serial infusions, all except one showed neonatal survival. Overall, only two of 19 infusions(10.5 %) were complicated by chorioamnionitis and transient bradycardia, respectively. Our findings support that antepartum transabdominal infusion seems to be a relatively safe procedure and may offer marginal clinical benefits to perinatal outcome in selected cases.