Horia Tajic , Hossain Habibi
Introduction: The most common cause of HDFN (Hemolytic
Disease of the Fetus and Newborn) is Rh incompatibility between
mother and fetus. The result of the incompatibility in the mother's
body is the creation of allo-antibodies which can pass through the
placenta and lead to lysis of embryo's red blood cells. HDFN may
cause anemia, jaundice, hepatosplenomegaly, Kernicterus,
encephalopathy and also abortion.
Aim: Conventional methods including cordocentesis and
amniocentesis, which are used to detect HDFN, are invasive and
may lead to abortion, so the importance of NIPT (Non-Invasive
Prenatal Testing) is revealed as this methodology does not have the
risks of earlier methods and has high accuracy and sensitivity.
Methods: Data collections have been done using databases:
PubMed, Nature and Science Direct. To compare and summarize
the different diagnostic methods of HDFN, books and articles that
have been published by 2018 are studied.
Result: Incompatibility in maternal and fetal blood groups may
cause irreversible damage to the fetus, so an early diagnosis can
prevent these problems.
Discussion and Conclusion: NIPT can be done from the 10th week
of pregnancy. The specificity and sensitivity of this method is high and the risk of abortion does not exist. It is strongly suggested to do
NIPT on mothers with Rh- blood in order to accurately detect fetal
Rh type and reduce excessive Rhogam use.