Invasive prenatal diagnosis of α-thalassemia to control Hb Bart's hydrops fetalis syndrome: 15 years of experience.

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to report experiences with invasive prenatal diagnosis of α-thalassemia for the prevention of Hb Bart's hydrops fetalis syndrome in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China.

Methods: Pregnant women and their partners who tested positive for α-thalassemia or were diagnosed with HbH diseases were counseled and suggested to undergo a prenatal diagnostic procedure for α-thalassemia. Fetal material was obtained by chorionic villus sampling (CVS) between 9 and 13 weeks of gestation, by amniocentesis between 16 and 24 weeks of gestation and by cordocentesis after 24 weeks of gestation. The α-thalassemia gene types were detected by gap polymerase chain reaction (Gap-PCR). All results were finally confirmed by DNA analysis after delivery or termination of pregnancy.

Results: An invasive prenatal α-thalassemia diagnosis was performed in 3155 cases at risk for Hb Bart's hydrops fetalis syndrome at our hospital from 2002 to 2016. CVS was performed in 1559 cases (49.4%), amniocentesis in 1240 cases (39.3%) and cordocentesis in 356 cases (11.3%). In total, 786 fetuses were diagnosed as Hb Bart's hydrops fetalis syndrome. Among these cases, the α-thalassemia genotype was --/-- in 784 cases and --/-- in 2 cases. All affected pregnancies were terminated in time.

Conclusions: This extensive experience suggests that carrier screening, molecular diagnostics, genetic counselling, and prenatal diagnosis are effective measures to prevent Hb Bart's hydrops fetalis syndrome.