PURPOSE: to evaluate the perinatal outcomes of pregnancies complicated by oligohydramnios, not due to premature rupture of membranes (PRM), diagnosed until the 26th week of gestation. PATIENTS AND METHODS: we analyzed retrospectively the cases of oligohydramnios that occurred from January 1994 to December 2000, and were diagnosed until the 26th week of gestation. Oligohydramnios was present when the amniotic fluid index was less or equal to 5.0 cm. After diagnosis the patients were followed-up with serial ultrasound evaluation, with emphasis on the maintenance of the oligohydramnios state. When remission of the oligohydramnios occurred, patients remained in the study. Cases due to PRM, fetal death detected on the first examination and the women who gave birth in another institution were excluded from the study. Concerning the patients, the presence of clinical and obstetric diseases was investigated. As regards the newborns, we evaluated birth weight, time of admission/death, occurrence of death or malformations. RESULTS: twenty-seven cases of oligohydramnios were analyzed. Thirteen fetuses had congenital anomalies, and among them, eight had anomalies of the urinary tract, four of the nervous system and one had cystic hygroma. Fourteen patients had a clinical or an obstetric disease, mainly hypertension (10 cases). In addition, we found three cases of placenta previa and one case of thyropathy. There were thirteen fetal deaths and fourteen neonatal deaths. CONCLUSION: oligohydramnios not due to PRM, occurring in the second trimester of gestation, independent of the etiology or the presence of congenital anomalies, was associated with a fatal perinatal result.
Oligohydramnios; Perinatal results; Amniotic fluid; Fetal malformations; Fetal death
