Prenatal diagnosis of congenital hypophosphatasia in a consanguineous Bedouin couple. A case report.

BACKGROUND

Hypophosphatasia is a rare autosomal recessive metabolic disorder characterized by low serum and tissue alkaline phosphatase activity, increased urinary excretion of phosphoethanolamine and ricketslike changes in the bone.

CASE: We present a case of prenatal diagnosis of congenital hypophosphatasia in a consanguineous Bedouin couple. The case was diagnosed at 24.5 weeks of gestation. Sonographic evaluation revealed a fetus with short and deformed bones and a hypoechogenic skull. Based on the sonographic findings and the obstetric history of the couple, hypophosphatasia was diagnosed. The parents opted for pregnancy termination. Feticide was accomplished uneventfully. Laboratory findings confirmed the diagnosis.

CONCLUSION

This couple was prone to this metabolic disorder due to their consanguineous marriage and previous affected fetus. Early-first-trimester prenatal diagnosis by first-trimester chorionic villus sampling or second-trimester measuring of alkaline phosphatase activity in the amniotic fluid is required to exclude this lethal disease in subsequent pregnancies.