For Physicians. By Physicians.™
For Physicians. By Physicians.™
Fetal bowel can sometimes appear bright on prenatal ultrasound depending on the transducer used and machine settings. However, echogenic bowel in the fetus is not a significant finding unless the bowel appears as bright as bone (the brightness of the iliac wing can be used a reference). If the ultrasound report does confirm echogenic fetal bowel, further management should include
Fetal echogenic bowel is present in up to 1.8% of second trimester ultrasound exams. It can be due to congenital cytomegalovirus infection, cystic fibrosis, intra-amniotic bleeding, fetal growth restriction, aneuploidy or gastrointestinal obstruction. Therefore, further work-up is warranted.
ACOG Practice Bulletin No. 226: Screening for Fetal Chromosomal Abnormalities
ACOG Practice Bulletin No. 162: Prenatal Diagnostic Testing for Genetic Disorders
Outcome of infants presenting with echogenic bowel in the second trimester of pregnancy
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