Impaired Fetal Myocardial Deformation in Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy

Objectives: To investigate changes in fetal myocardial deformation in intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy.

Methods: Patients with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy were divided into 2 groups according to the total maternal serum bile acid concentration: mild cholestasis (10-40 μmol/L) and severe cholestasis (>40 μmol/L). Fetal echocardiography and velocity vector imaging were performed on women with cholestasis and control patients. The left ventricular global longitudinal strain and strain rate were measured. Clinical characteristics, maternal serum bile acid levels, and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels in umbilical vein blood were compared between groups. The relationships among fetal myocardial deformation, maternal total bile acids, and cord NT-proBNP were analyzed.

Results: Twenty women with mild cholestasis, 20 with severe cholestasis, and 40 control patients were enrolled. There were no significant differences in maternal and gestational ages between the case and control groups. Maternal bile acids and NT-proBNP were significantly higher in fetuses of mothers with cholestasis than control fetuses. The left ventricular longitudinal strain (-10.56% ± 1.83% versus -18.36% ± 1.11%; P < .01), systolic strain rate (-1.63 ± 0.18 versus -2.04 ± 0.18 secondsz(-1); P < .01), and diastolic strain rate (1.37 ± 0.18 versus 1.83 ± 0.14 seconds(-1); P < .01) were significantly decreased in fetuses with severe cholestasis compared with control fetuses. There were positive correlations between fetal myocardial deformation and maternal total bile acids (r = 0.705, 0.643, and 0.690, respectively; P < .01) and between myocardial deformation and NT-proBNP (r = 0.672, 0.643, and 0.647; P < .01).

Conclusions: Fetal myocardial deformation is impaired in severe intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy. Further investigation is needed to determine whether fetal echocardiography and velocity vector imaging can help predict which fetuses of mothers with cholestasis are likely to have poor outcomes.