A Fetus with Hydropic Change Secondary to Fetal Supraventricular Tachycardia

Fetal tachyarrhythmia is a rare but serious disease. Without treatment, it may progress to fetal cardiac failure, hydrops fetalis and in utero fetal death. With the rapid advancement in fetal echocardiographic equipment and techniques, such arrhythmia can be diagnosed accurately during prenatal life by using M-mode echocardiogram and doppler. Prenatal control of the tachyarrhythmia can be achieved by either transplacental or direct fetal treatment with a wide-range of antiarrhythmic drugs. We report a 20 weeks gestation hydropic fetus secondary to supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) who was successfully treated by transplacental flecainide. Abstract Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) is a well-recognised cause of non-immune hydrops fetalis, which is associated with a high incidence of perinatal mortality. The arrhythmia can be diagnosed accurately during prenatal life. We report here a case of fetal hydrops secondary to SVT at 20 weeks of gestation successfully treated with transplacental flecainide. The controversy on the types of drugs used and the optimal route of administration were discussed.