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Am J Perinatol 2009; 26(1): 051-056
DOI: 10.1055/s-0028-1095180
© Thieme Medical Publishers

Perinatal Outcomes of Normal Cotwins in Twin Pregnancies with One Structurally Anomalous Fetus: A Population-Based Retrospective Study

Lu-Ming Sun1 , 2 , 3 , 5 , 7 , Xi-Kuan Chen3 , 4 , 6 , Shi Wu Wen2 , 3 , 4 , Karen Fung Kee Fung2 , 7 , Qiuying Yang2 , 3 , Mark C. Walker2 , 3 , 4 , 7
  • 1Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Health Hospital, University of TongJi, Shanghai, China
  • 2OMNI Research Group, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
  • 3Clinical Epidemiology Program, Ottawa Health Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
  • 4Department of Epidemiology and Community Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
  • 5Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
  • 6McLaughlin Center for Population Health Risk Assessment, Institute of Population Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
  • 7Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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Publication History

Publication Date:
20 November 2008 (online)

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ABSTRACT

We examined the impact of the presence of one anomalous fetus in a twin pregnancy on perinatal outcomes in the normal cotwin. Perinatal outcomes in cotwins with an anomalous twin and cotwins without an anomalous twin were compared using data from the 1995 to 1997 United States Matched Multiple Births dataset. The two groups were matched by maternal age, parity, birth order, gender, and sex concordance (1:4 matching). The risks of preterm birth, low birth weight, small-for-gestational-age birth, fetal distress, the use of assisted ventilation, low Apgar score, fetal death, neonatal death, and infant death in the 3307 normal cotwins with a twin affected by structural anomalies were significantly higher than those of the 12,813 matched cotwins without an anomalous twin. The presence of one structurally anomalous fetus in a twin pregnancy increases the risks of adverse perinatal outcomes in the cotwin without a fetal anomaly.

KEYWORDS

Twin pregnancy - fetal anomaly - preterm birth - perinatal outcomes

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Dr. Shi Wu WenM.B. Ph.D. 

OMNI Research Group, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Ottawa, Faulty of Medicine

501 Smyth Rd, Box 241, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1H 8L6

Email: swwen@ohri.ca