Abstract
Multiple births are increasing in frequency related to advanced maternal age and fertility treatments, and they have an increased risk for congenital anomalies compared to singleton births. However, twins have the same congenital anomalies <15% of the time. Thus, having multiple births with discordant anomalies is a growing challenge for neonatologists. Although external anomalies can often be spotted quickly at delivery or sex differences between multiples can rapidly identify those with internal anomalies described on prenatal ultrasound, we present a case of male multiples, who would optimally receive different initial resuscitation strategies on the basis of the presence or absence of an internal anomaly. The similar size of 4 extremely preterm quadruplets raises concern for whether accurate, immediate identification of 1 neonate with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia will be reliable in the delivery room. Clinicians discuss the ethical considerations of an "all for one" approach to this resuscitation.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Article number | e20192704 |
| Journal | Pediatrics |
| Volume | 145 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - May 2020 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2020 by the American Academy of Pediatrics
Keywords
- Cesarean Section/ethics
- Delivery Rooms/ethics
- Delivery, Obstetric/ethics
- Female
- Fetal Membranes, Premature Rupture/diagnosis
- Humans
- Infant, Extremely Premature/physiology
- Infant, Newborn
- Intubation, Intratracheal/ethics
- Pregnancy
- Pregnancy, Quadruplet/physiology
PubMed: MeSH publication types
- Case Reports
- Letter