Clinical Significance of Echogenic Amniotic Fluid on Perinatal Outcome

Background: Amniotic fluid is the aqueous substance that envelops a developing fetus within the amniotic sac and often exhibits a transparent to light yellow hue.Objectives: To determine the characteristics of echogenic amniotic fluid, overcome needless interventions caused by turbid amniotic fluid, evaluate the neonatal outcome, and determine the gestational age at the moment of delivery in cases who present with echogenic amniotic fluid.Patients and Methods: This was case-control research performed on two hundred pregnant females who were admitted to the emergency unit of obstetrics and gynecology at Al-Azhar University hospitals in Assiut from August 2022 until October 2023. Cases were divided into two groups: Group One: one hundred pregnant females with normal amniotic fluid (control group), and Group Two: one hundred pregnant females with echogenic amniotic fluid (case group).Results: The main findings were that there wasn't statistically significant variance among both groups with regard to ultrasonographic data (fetal weight, gestational age, and amniotic fluid index) (P-value> 0.05). There was statistically significant variance among the two groups regarding the presence of diffuse CC or turbidity (P-value< 0.05) and liquor characteristics (P-value< 0.05). There was a significant negative association between APGAR one minute and echogenic amniotic fluid, while there was a significant positive association between echogenic amniotic fluid and NICU admission.Conclusion: No other correlations were found, so we concluded that echogenic amniotic fluid had clinical significance; there was a significant correlation between amniotic fluid echogenicity and fetal outcome (APGAR 1 minute and NICU admission).