Prenatal ultrasound of regional akinesia with Pena-Shokier phenotype

This report describes sonographic features of the Pena-Shokeir phenotype secondary to regional akinesia at 28 weeks of gestation with maternal perception of good fetal movement. The diagnosis was based on the findings of no fetal activity in some parts of the body (upper limbs, a part of the face, and thorax), with deformation sequence of fixed flexion at wrist, elbow, and shoulder joints, fixed open mouth, fetal growth restriction, lung hypoplasia, polyhydramnios and normal chromosome study. Surprisingly, fetal akinesia involved only the upper limbs, a part of the face, and chest, whereas the lower limbs were completely normal in both morphology and activity. With vibroacoustic stimulation, the response of fetal heart rate acceleration, gross body movement including fetal head, spine and lower limb movement were observed, but the movement of the upper limbs and fetal breathing were completely absent. Spontaneous labour and delivery occurred at 29 weeks' gestation. Postnatal autopsy confirmed the prenatal findings. In conclusion, prenatal sonography plays an important role not only in detecting Pena-Shokeir phenotype but also in providing the detailed pattern of fetal akinesia. Finally, this case reaffirms the concept that function is an integral part of normal development. Copyright (C) 2000 John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.