Abstract

To investigate the correlation between dilated fetal bowel detected by prenatal ultrasonography and fetal prognosis. In this retrospective study, a total of 157 pregnant women who underwent Doppler ultrasound obstetric examination in our hospital from August 2020 to August 2021 were included. All pregnant women were divided into the normal group and the dilation group according to the results of ultrasound diagnosis. The normal group was the pregnant women with normal fetal bowel diameter diagnosed by prenatal ultrasound. The dilation group was the pregnant women diagnosed with fetal bowel dilatation by prenatal ultrasound. Pregnant women in the dilation group were followed up until 1 mo after the delivery of the fetus. The dilation sites of all fetuses in the dilation group, pregnancy outcomes and neonatal Apgar scores were collected, and the correlation between fetal bowel dilatation and neonatal Apgar scores was analyzed. There was no significant difference in the above indices (p>0.05). The average inner diameter of the fetuses with duodenal canal dilatation, jejunal and ileal canal dilatation, and colonic canal dilation were negatively correlated with the neonatal Apgar score (r=-0.751, r=-0.723, r=-0.682, p<0.05). The incidence of premature birth, induced labor and polyhydramnios in fetuses with duodenal canal dilatation was significantly higher than that in fetuses with jejunal and colonic canal dilatation (p<0.05). Prenatal ultrasound diagnosis of dilated fetal bowel is correlated with fetal prognosis and has a predictive potential. Fetal duodenal dilatation or other abnormalities have a worse prognosis than small bowel or colonic dilatation alone, which is conducive to identify fetal status and implementation of preventive strategies.