Comparative study of clinical characteristics of amniotic rupture sequence with and without body wall defect: Further evidence for separation

BACKGROUND: Amniotic rupture sequence (ARS) is a disruption sequence presenting with fibrous bands, possibly emerging as a result of amniotic tear in the first trimester of gestation. Our comparative study aims to assess whether there is a difference in the clinical pattern of congenital limb and internal organ anomalies between ARS with body wall defect (ARS-BWD) and ARS without BWD (ARS-L). METHODS: Among 1,706,639 births recorded between 1998 and 2006, 50 infants with a diagnosis of ARS were reported to the Polish Registry of Congenital Malformations. The information on 3 infants was incomplete, thus only 47 cases were analyzed. These infants were classified into groups of ARS-L (38 infants) and ARS-BWD (9 infants). RESULTS: The ARS-BWD cases were more frequently affected by various congenital defects (overall p < 0.0001), and in particular by urogenital malformations (p = 0.003). In both groups, limb reduction defects occurred in approximately 80% of cases; however, minor and distal limb defects (phalangeal or digital amputation, pseudosyndactyly, constriction rings) predominated in the ARS-L group (p = 0.0008). The ARS-L group also had a higher frequency of hand and upper limb involvement. CONCLUSIONS: This observation suggests that amniotic band adhesion in ARS-L takes place at a later development stage. Although limited by a small sample size, our study contributes to the growing evidence that both ARS entities represent two nosologically distinct conditions.