Cytogenetic study of amniotic fluid in the evaluation of fetal death.

Cytogenetic study is an important part of the evaluation of intrauterine fetal death. Many tissue cultures fail to grow because of maceration and autolysis of the fetal tissues. We evaluated eight amniotic fluid cytogenetic cultures from patients whose fetus had died. All patients had sonographic evidence of Spalding's sign. In four patients, urea and PGF2 alpha were simultaneously injected into the amniotic cavity. Seven amniotic cultures, gestational age 19 to 33 weeks, grew successfully, even when a tissue culture obtained after delivery failed to grow. One culture, gestational age 36.5 weeks, failed to grow and could not be analyzed. The use of amniotic fluid culture for cytogenetic evaluation of fetal death, obtained at the time of diagnosis, is superior to culture of fetal tissue obtained after delivery. The amniocentesis may also serve for intra-amniotic induction of labor.