Twin anemia-polycythemia sequence and routine monitoring practices amongst maternal-fetal medicine specialists in the United States: an initial investigation
-
Lauren D. Nicholas
,
Rebecca L. Fischbein
Abstract
Background
The purpose of this initial investigation was to begin to understand the routine twin anemia-polycythemia sequence (TAPS) monitoring practices of maternal-fetal medicine specialists (MFM specialists) in the United States in the absence of a formal guideline.
Methods
This study used an anonymous, online survey of 90 MFM specialists who were practicing in the United States. A $5 gift card to an online store was used to incentivize participants. Descriptive statistics were calculated.
Results
All MFM specialists reported at least some familiarity (100.00%) with TAPS. Most participants (92.94%) were familiar with methods for monitoring patients for TAPS and nearly all (97.50%) responded that they use ‘Doppler MCA-PSV’ to make a prenatal TAPS diagnosis. Nearly two-thirds of MFM specialists surveyed (65.06%) reported performing regular TAPS monitoring for patients with monochorionic-diamniotic (MCDA) pregnancies.
Conclusion
Despite no formal guidelines, the majority of American MFM specialists surveyed are using routine TAPS screening in their management of MCDA twin pregnancies, suggesting that the MFM specialists included in this study consider it a valuable diagnostic tool. Future research should further explore this possible trend toward routine TAPS monitoring amongst MFM specialists in the United States, as well as the potential value of routine TAPS monitoring in MCDA pregnancy.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge Mrs. Megan Savage and her patient perspective contributions to the content and presentation of this work. Additionally, we would like to acknowledge the generous funding support Dr. Fischbein received from the 2016 Kent State University, University Research Council Research/Scholarly Activity Support Award and Dr. Nicholas received from the 2016 D’Youville College Faculty Research Grant Award.
Author contributions: Lauren D. Nicholas is responsible for the design, planning, conduct, and substantial writing and revisions of this manuscript. Rebecca L. Fischbein is responsible for the design, planning, conduct, statistical analysis, and writing and revisions of this manuscript. Surya S. Bhamidipalli is responsible for the conduct, substantial statistical analysis, and writing of this manuscript. All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.
Research funding: 2016 D’Youville College Faculty Research Grant Award, Grant Number: Year 2016.
Employment or leadership: None declared.
Honorarium: None declared.
Competing interests: The funding organization(s) played no role in the study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the report for publication.
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Supplementary Material
The online version of this article offers supplementary material (https://doi.org/10.1515/jpm-2018-0240).
©2019 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
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