A L J O A T U N R I N R A E L P Case Report P L E R A Perinatal Journal 2020;28(1):48–51 I N N R A U T A L J O ©2020 Perinatal Medicine Foundation Isolated levocardia with situs inversus without cardiac abnormality in fetus: prenatal diagnosis and management Mucize Eriç ÖzdemirİD , Oya Demirci İD Department of Perinatology, Zeynep Kamil Maternity and Children’s Diseases Training and Research Hospital., Health Sciences University, Istanbul, Turkey Abstract Özet: Kardiyak anomalisi olmayan fetüste situs inversuslu izole levokardi: Prenatal tan› ve yönetim Objective: Isolated levocardia is a situs abnormality that the heart is Amaç: ‹zole levokardi, kalbin normal levo pozisyonunda oldu¤u in the normal levo position, but the abdominal viscera are in dextro fakat abdominal iç organlar›n dekstro pozisyonunda oldu¤u bir si- position. Most cases are accompanied by structural heart anomalies. tus anomalisidir. Ço¤u olguda yap›sal kalp anomalileri de efllik et- In this case, we aimed to present a fetus with isolated levocardia with- mektedir. Çal›flmam›zda, kardiyak anomalisi olmayan izole levo- out cardiac abnormality. kardili bir fetüsü sunmay› amaçlad›k. Case: The mother was referred to our clinic with a suspicion of fetal Olgu: Olgumuz, 22. gebelik haftas›nda fetal dekstrokardi flüphe- dextrocardia at 22 weeks of gestation. When detailed examination was siyle klini¤imize sevk edildi. Planlanan detayl› ultrason muayene- planned by ultrasonography isolated levocardia was detected in fetus. sinde, fetüste izole levokardi tespit edildi. Fetal ekokardiyografide There were no cardiac abnormalities in fetal echocardiography. Fetus hiçbir kardiyak anomali görülmedi. Fetüs do¤uma kadar takip was followed up until delivery and newborn was examined again at edildi ve yenido¤an, postnatal dönemde yeniden muayene edildi. 2 postnatal period. No problem was detected until the age of 2 years. yafl›na kadar hiçbir sorun tespit edilmedi. Conclusion: Fetal situs should be assessed by ultrasonography in all Sonuç: Fetal situs tüm gebelerde ultrasonografi muayenesi ile de- pregnant women. ¤erlendirilmelidir. Keywords: Fetus, levocardia, ultrasonography. Anahtar sözcükler: Fetüs, levokardi, ultrasonografi. Introduction mate.[4] According to reports, the incidence of IL is approximately 1 per 22,000 births,[5] and it represents Isolated levocardia (IL) is a kind of situs anomaly that the 0.4–1.2% of all congenital heart disease (CHD).[6] In this heart is in the normal levo position, but the abdominal [1] study, we reported a case of IL with structurally normal viscera are in dextro position. The vast majority of the [2] heart and no rhythm abnormalities. cases have major cardiac anomalies. This condition is rare when it is associated with a normal cardiac struc- ture[3] and the incidence of this anomaly in fetuses is not Case Report known.[1] Most of IL patients who do not have cardiac A 28-year-old woman gravida 3 para 2 with no family and intestinal abnormalities survive with unknown rea- history of congenital anomalies, having consanguineous sons. So, the prenatal incidence of IL is difficult to esti- marriage and a normal medical history had routine pre- Correspondence: Mucize Eriç Özdemir, MD. Department of Perinatology, Zeynep Kamil Maternity and Children’s Diseases Training and Research Hospital., Health Sciences University, Istanbul, Turkey. e-mail: [email protected] / Received: January 15, 2020; Accepted: February 17, 2020 Please cite this article as: Eriç Özdemir M, Demirci O. Isolated levocardia with situs inversus without cardiac abnormality in fetus: prenatal diagnosis and management. Perinatal Journal 2020;28(1):48–51. doi:10.2399/prn.20.0281004 ORCID ID: M. Eriç Özdemir 0000-0002-2177-0771, O. Demirci 0000-0001-5578-4437 Isolated levocardia with situs inversus without cardiac abnormality in fetus: prenatal diagnosis and management natal ultrasound with suspicion of dextrocardia. The Discussion patient rejected to have any of aneuploidy screening tests. The fetal side and axis must be examined carefully for The patient was referred for fetal echocardiography at 22 diagnosis of cardiac malpositions. Özkutlu et al. sug- weeks of gestation. On ultrasound, the fetus had a left- gested that Cordes technique provides a simple deter- sided heart and a right-sided stomach (Fig. 1). The gall- mination of the fetal situs.[7] Situs anomalies are the least bladder was located at right side to the umbilical vein in common forms of CHD.[8] ‘Situs’ defines the arrange- the midline. Fetal echocardiography showed situs solitus ment of the viscera, atria, and vessels within the body. of the atria, the ventricles, and the main arteries. The ‘Situs solitus’ refers to normal arrangement; ‘situs inferior vena cava (VCI) and aorta were both on the left, inversus’ refers to inverted arrangement; and ‘situs and the main portal vein was on the right side. The VCI ambiguus’ (heterotaxy) refers to abnormalities in was running on the left side, and returning to the anteri- arrangements that can neither be described as solitus or right side of the diaphragm (Fig. 2). Portal venous nor inversus.[9] Univentricular physiology and transpo- structures and ductus venosus were normal. Sonographic sition of the great arteries are more common in fetuses evaluation of the fetus revealed no additional abnormali- ties. With these findings, the case was considered as IL. with levocardia, whereas abnormal pulmonary venous Amniocentesis showed normal male karyotype. At 38 connection, double outlet of right ventricle and left ventricle outlet obstruction are more frequent in fetus- weeks of gestation, a planned cesarean section was per- [10] formed secondary to fetal macrosomia. A male infant was es with dextrocardia. IL is a subtype of situs inversus [11] born with a birth weight of 4100 g and an Apgar score of that was first defined by Taussing in 1947. Then, Van [2] 9 at 1 min and 8 at 5 min. The neonate’s electrocardio- Praagh et al. classified this condition as a partial situs gram showed normal sinus rhythm and postnatal inversus in which the heart remains in levocardia. In [2] echocardiography confirmed the prenatal diagnosis. 95% of the cases, major cardiac anomalies are detect- Abdominal ultrasonography of the baby after birth ed and only 5–13% of the cases survive for longer than [12,13] revealed right-sided spleen and stomach and confirmed 5 years. IL is one of the heterotaxy syndromes and left-sided VCI. The baby was in good condition and oral should be carefully evaluated in terms of associated feeding was started. The boy was stable and discharged organ anomalies. Splenic abnormalities like asplenia home after a week. He was regularly followed up by a and polysplenia are usually encountered with this pediatrician and there were no major problems recorded anomaly.[2] Vaccination against Streptococcus pneumoniae with his health at 2 years. and Neisseria meningitidis and daily antibiotic prophylax- Left VCI Right Fig. 1. A right-sided stomach of the case with left-sided heart case Fig. 2. The vena cava inferior (VCI) returns to the anterior right is shown on ultrasound image. side of the diaphragm. Volume 28 | Issue 1 | April 2020 49 Eriç Özdemir M, Demirci O is can be suggested for asplenic patients to prevent seri- tal period. Families with the baby prenatally diagnosed ous infection.[9] In some cases, IL may be complicated with IL syndrome can be better informed about the by an intestinal malrotation and intestinal obstruction prognosis. In prenatally suspected cases, a more com- due to peritoneal band, intraluminal web and an aber- prehensive examination can be performed with postna- rant vessel, commonly the superior mesenteric artery. tal MR (magnetic resonance) imaging. MR provides These cases cannot be detected for years until an more detailed information about the anatomy of the abdominal surgery.[14,15] Interrupted VCI with azygous abdominal organs and provides a more detailed exami- continuation can be detected in cases of IL.[16] and intes- nation of bowel problems.[20] Newborns with IL should tinal malrotation is generally related to interrupted be followed-up closely especially after feeding. The [3] VCI. Also, double inferior vena cava (DVCI) has been families of uncomplicated cases should be also warned reported in some IL cases. DVCI may be important for in terms of gastrointestinal pathologies and cardiac a retroperitoneal surgery and management of a throm- arrhythmias that may develop in future. For the abdom- [17] boembolic disease. Rhythm abnormalities such as inal surgeries that may be encountered in the future, it atrioventricular nodal reentry tachycardia and sick sinus is important to inform the surgical team about the syndrome are reported in cases of IL. Therefore, long- anatomy in advance. term monitorization is recommended for these patients against new-onset arrhythmias.[18] Since there were no asplenia detected in our case, the neonatologist did not Conclusion recommend vaccination and daily antibiotherapy. In In the absence of associated cardiac anomaly and chro- the neonatal period there was no sign of primary ciliary mosomal abnormality, IL cases have low risk for mor- dyskinesia and the change in respiratory sounds was bidity and mortality. Anatomical investigation and care- associated with gastroesophageal reflux. Findings of ful observation may improve the outcome of IL. intestinal malrotation and obstruction were not observed, there was no pathology associated with VCI. Conflicts of Interest: No conflicts declared Cardiac arrhythmia did not develop during the neona- References tal period and subsequent follow-ups. 1. Gindes L, Hegesh J, Barkai G, Jacobson JM, Achiron R. The pathogenesis of IL is not entirely clear but it is Isolated levocardia: prenatal diagnosis, clinical importance, associated with the abnormalities in the embryological and literature review. J Ultrasound Med 2007;26:361–5. development process. Genetic studies do not define a 2. Van Praagh S, Santini F, Sanders SP. Cardiac malpositions specific gene mutation, but there are studies investigat- with special emphasis on visceral heterotaxy (asplenia and ing the primer ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) gene.