PRENATAL DIAGNOSIS AND OUTCOMES OF SEVERE HYDROTHORAX ASSOCIATED WITH COR TRIATRIATUM DEXTER AND CYTOMEGALOVIRUS INFECTION

Rinor Bejiqi Ramush Bejiqi*, Ragip Retkoceri, Arlinda Maloku Aferdita Mustafa, Hana Bejiqi

ABSTRACT

Fetal hydrothorax (FH) or pleural effusion is a clinical entity, and refers to accumulation of fetal pleural fluid, which may presents a wide spectrum of severity ranging from small, harmless effusion, to life-threatening thoracic compression. The perinatal mortality associated with pleural effusion is at least 50%. Cardiac and extra-cardiac abnormalities may accompany the hydrothorax and their presence also affects the prognosis. Division of the right atrium, first reported in 1868, also known as cor triatriatum dexter, is extremely a rare congenitally abnormality, in which persistence of right valve of the embryonic systemic venous sinus divides the right atrium into two chambers. The embryonic valvar structures, whose significance during fetal life is to direct the richly oxygenated inferior caval venous blood across to the left atrium and thence to the aorta, normal regress in late fetal life and early childhood. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a common human virus, member of herpes virus family, and the most common cause of intrauterine infection, occurring in 0.2 % to 2.2 % of life births. This report describes antenatal diagnosed a case of a divided right atrium, associated with severe form of hydrothorax and Cytomegalovirus infection. Here we present a fetus with sever bilateral hydrothorax associated with divided right atrium and cytomegalovirus infection.

Keywords: Fetal echocardiography, hydrothorax, congenital heart defects, Cytomegalovirus infection, fetal hydrops.