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Nonimmune hydrops fetalis can be associated with many fetal conditions. A fetal blood sample obtained from ultrasound-guided cordocentesis can offer vital information about the underlying cause of the nonimmune hydrops fetalis, and perinatal management can be planned accordingly. We attempted to evaluate a case of nonimmune hydrops fetalis conveying poor perinatal outcome through serial fetal blood sampling. Although we could establish no apparent reason for this acute case, fetal blood sampling in addition to ultrasonographic screening can play a key role in the management of the 'perplexing' nonimmune hydrops fetalis.

Clinical brain tumors become symptomatic or show acceleration of symptoms in pregnant women less often when compared with those in non-pregnant women. We describe the clinical findings and MR imaging of a rare case of malignant lymphoma arising in the brain of a pregnant woman.

In this report, maternal and fetal risks were evaluated in a pregnant patient who had no previously established heart valvular disease. A 41-old-year patient with aortic and mitral regurgitations suffered from progressive congestive heart failure during 20 weeks of gestation. She carried the pregnancy to a successful delivery at 31 weeks. During this time, sudden deterioration in the symptoms occurred, but both the fetal and maternal outcomes were uneventful. This experience of a good outcome may contribute to the future management of pregnancies associated with heart disease.

A case of colonic pseudo-obstruction (Ogilvie's syndrome) during pregnancy is described. The patient, with placenta previa, was in management of bleeding and also of premature labor. She was successfully treated with conservative measures for the Ogilvie's syndrome, and thereafter underwent a cesarean section only. There had been no recurrence of the pseudo-obstruction after the surgical procedure.

In this report, the maternal and fetal risks in a patient with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) were evaluated. A patient with PNH carried a pregnancy to successful delivery, with a healthy male infant, and suffered from postpartum cerebral subcortical, but not hepatic, thrombosis followed by recovery. An elevation of serum levels of lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme, alpha-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase, was observed during pregnancy. The level was ameliorated to the non-pregnant level by delivery. However, hemoglobin concentrations during pregnancy and post-partum were at least 8 g/dl. This is a first report that shows tight coupling between an onset of intravenous hemolysis and pregnancy. The management of pregnancies in such patients is also discussed.

A case of upper gastrointestinal dilatation associated with fluid collection in the peritoneal cavity is reported where the prenatal diagnosis was made sonographically in a non-immunologic hydrops fetalis. Neither generalized edema nor pleural effusion were detected. Polyhydramnios was complicated. Almost complete drainage of the abdominal fluid was accomplished with rapid re-accumulation of fetal ascites and no resolution of intestinal dilatation. After delivery by Cesarean section, the male infant died the next day due to respiratory distress syndrome. Postmortem histologic examination failed to confirm the ultrasonographic findings including ileal obstruction and subsequent hypoplasia in the colon. Despite the discrepancy between clinical and pathologic findings, the findings of this case would improve the etiology of hydrops where no possible cause is found.