Limb defects after chorionic villus sampling

OBJECTIVE: To clarify the association between limb defects and chorionic villus sampling (CVS). METHODS: Questionnaires were sent to 165 major obstetric units in Taiwan to survey the incidence of limb defects with and without CVS exposure during 1991. Limb defects with CVS exposure from September 1990 to June 1992 were also surveyed. The spectrum of limb defects in CVS-exposed and general populations were compared by the Poisson test. RESULTS: The incidence of limb defects in the surveyed general population in 1991 was 0.032% and that with CVS exposure was 0.294%, a statistically significant difference (P < .001). The incidence of severe limb defects in the general population was 0.0026% and that with CVS exposure was 0.22%, also statistically significant (P < .001). Twenty-nine cases of limb defects after CVS were reported from September 1990 until June 1992: 19 cases with transverse limb reduction, two with mid-palm reduction, seven with adactyly or hypodactyly, and one with syndactyly. Four cases also had oromandibular-limb hypogenesis syndrome. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of limb defects, especially the severe types, was increased after CVS. The spectrum of limb defects with CVS exposure was more severe than the limb defects seen in the general population and showed a specific pattern ranging from hypodactyly, adactyly, and transverse limb reduction, to oromandibular-limb hypogenesis. A correlation between the severity of limb defects and the timing of CVS was suggested.

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