Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Fetal Medicine Unit, UZ Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Department of Development and Regeneration, Biomedical Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Prenat Diagn. 2020 Dec;40(13):1755-1758. doi: 10.1002/pd.5702. Epub 2020 Apr 22.
Even though the global COVID-19 pandemic may affect how medical care is delivered in general, most countries try to maintain steady access for women to routine pregnancy care, including fetal anomaly screening. This means that, also during this pandemic, fetal anomalies will be detected, and that discussions regarding invasive genetic testing and possibly fetal therapy will need to take place. For patients, concerns about Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Corona Virus 2 will add to the anxiety caused by the diagnosis of a serious fetal anomaly. Yet, also for fetal medicine teams the situation gets more complex as they must weigh up the risks and benefits to the fetus as well as the mother, while managing a changing evidence base and logistic challenges in their healthcare system.
尽管全球 COVID-19 大流行可能会影响一般医疗服务的提供方式,但大多数国家都试图确保妇女能够稳定获得常规妊娠护理,包括胎儿异常筛查。这意味着,即使在这场大流行期间,也会发现胎儿异常,并需要讨论关于侵袭性基因检测和可能的胎儿治疗的问题。对于患者来说,对严重急性呼吸综合征-冠状病毒 2 的担忧会增加他们对严重胎儿异常诊断的焦虑。然而,对于胎儿医学团队来说,情况变得更加复杂,因为他们必须权衡胎儿和母亲的风险和收益,同时应对医疗体系中不断变化的证据基础和后勤挑战。