New method to detect fetal rubella infection

The Central Obstetrics Hospital (Hanoi) has just tested a method to help diagnose whether or not the fetus is infected with rubella, which in turn helps doctors make the most accurate recommendation to keep or suspend pregnancy.

In theory, this method asserts that up to 90% of the fetus is infected with rubella.

The doctor is examining a patient with rubella infection. (Photo: NP)

Associate Professor - Dr. Le Anh Tuan, Director of the Center for Antenatal Diagnosis - Central Obstetrics Hospital, said that this method has just been put into pilot at the hospital. This is really important because at the moment many pregnant women with rubella are wondering whether to keep or stop pregnancy.

This method uses test kits and Real-time PCR machines. Doctors will conduct amniocentesis to take about 1ml of water, then put it through cell centrifuge extract RNA and then run Real-time PCR machine. The device will tell if the child has rubella infection.

Because of the testing process, pregnant women will be tested for free. To assess the effectiveness of the method, doctors also studied to control the fetus with amniocentesis and to diagnose the cord blood for fetal testing after suspension. When the initial conclusions were based on scientific and accurate clinical evidence at the hospital, this new method would be applied universally to pregnant women with rubella infection.

Pregnant women who are pregnant for the first 3 months of rubella infection will be consulted very carefully by the doctor to decide whether to keep or terminate the pregnancy. The reason is that the rate of fetal malformations in this period can be 25%, 40% even 60%, in the middle 3 months, it is lower than 20%. Defects of common fetal malformations are cardiovascular, reduced brain function, physical and mental development retardation.