5 Cases of Cordocentesis for Antenatal Diagnosis

This study has been composed of 5 cases of cordocentesis between 21 and 34 weeks of gestational age from February 1997 to January 1998 at the Ehwa Medical Center. Indications for cordocentesis were as follows : 1) rapid karyotyping 2) evaluation of hematologic status 3) intrauterine infection 4) evaluation of fetal acid-base status. The most common indication for cordocentesis was rapid karyotyping of fetal chromosome. All cases of this study were successful. In conclusion, cordocentesis is a safe and very useful procedure for evaluating fetal status.