佐世 正勝¹, 三輪 知一郎², 長谷川 恵子¹, 住江 正大¹, 中田 雅彦¹, 加藤 紘²

Masakatsu SASE¹, Ichiro MIWA², Keiko HASEGAWA¹, Masahiro SUMIE¹, Masahiko NAKATA¹, Hiroshi KATO²

¹山口大学医学部附属病院周産母子センター, ²山口大学医学部生殖・発達・感染医科学講座 (産科婦人科)

¹Maternity and Perinatal Care Unit, Yamaguchi University Hospital, ²Department of Reproductive, Pediatric, and Infectious Science, Yamaguchi University School of Medicine

キーワード : human fetus, prenatal intervention, primary pleural effusion, ultrasound

The natural course of primary fetal pleural effusion varies. Hypoplastic lung, hydrops fetalis, and neonatal respiratory disorder resulting from pressure on the pleural effusion, alone or in combination, develop in fetuses with pleural effusion, and their prognosis is poor. In some cases however, fetal and neonatal life is uneventful, and respiratory disorders do not develop. We propose a new index, the pleural fluid/thoracic area ratio, for assessing fetal pleural effusion. Change in the index clearly reflected the clinical condition in five cases that were treated with intervention for primary fetal pleural effusion. Pleural fluid/thoracic area ratio may prove useful in assessing fetal pleural effusion.