PMID: 21568074May 17, 2011Paper

The importance of antenatal immunoprophylaxis for prevention of hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn

Acta Medica Croatica : C̆asopis Hravatske Akademije Medicinskih Znanosti
Mirta StarcevićMonika Kukuruzović

Abstract

Hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn (HDFN) is a consequence of maternal alloimmunization against fetal red blood cell antigens. Alloimmunization against D antigen from Rhesus (Rh) blood group system is particularly important because of its strong immunogenicity. During the last few decades, the introduction of RhD prophylaxis by postpartum administration of anti-D immunoglobulin to RhD negative women, now improved with antenatal prophylaxis, has led to a dramatic decrease in perinatal mortality and morbidity from HDFN. However, severe cases have not disappeared, mostly due to prophylaxis failure. In our case, inappropriate prenatal care during the first pregnancy in an RhD negative mother resulted in primary immunization. In the next pregnancy with an RhD positive child, the mother's secondary immune response was extremely strong and led to early development of severe fetal anemia. The fetus survived thanks to the treatment with intrauterine transfusions (IUT), but they caused suppression of erythropoiesis, which lasted for months after birth. The long lasting, late anemia was treated with repeated postnatal red cell transfusions and recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO). Despite the severity of HDFN in our case, the...Continue Reading

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Anemia

Anemia develops when your blood lacks enough healthy red blood cells. Anemia of inflammation (AI, also called anemia of chronic disease) is a common, typically normocytic, normochromic anemia that is caused by an underlying inflammatory disease. Here is the latest research on anemia.

Related Papers

Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine : CCLM
Leyre CardoFrancisco V Alvarez
Transfusion Medicine and Hemotherapy : Offizielles Organ Der Deutschen Gesellschaft Fur̈ Transfusionsmedizin Und Immunham̈atologie
Tadeja Dovč-DrnovšekPrimož Rožman
© 2022 Meta ULC. All rights reserved