Fetal echogenic bowel may be related to intestinal microbiota: a
prospective cohort study
Abstract
Objective: The purpose of the current study was to determine the
difference in intestinal microbiota after delivery between healthy
fetuses and fetuses with hyperechogenic bowel during the second
trimester and the relationship between fetal echogenic bowel and
microbiota. Design: Prospective cohort study. Setting: The Second
Affiliated Hospital Of Fujian Medical University,Quan zhou, China.
Population: 34 single pregnant women and their fetuses. Methods:
Fourteen healthy fetuses (control group), 13 fetuses with echogenic
bowel (EB group), and 7 fetuses with echogenic bowel and other
abnormalities (C-EB group) were selected. The first meconium after
delivery was collected for 16s rRNA sequencing. Results: A total of
69,222 operation classification units were obtained by clustering all
high-quality sequences with 97% similarity. There was no significant
difference in the Shannon, Simpson, and Chao 1 indices among the three
groups. At the phylum level, the intestinal microflora of the three
groups were similar.At the genus level, the abundance of Escherichia
coli/Shigella in the EB、C-EBgroup was significantly lower than the
control group, while the abundance of Staphylococcus, Methylobactrium,
and Curvibacter in the EB group was significantly higher than the other
groups. There was a difference in abundance of Gammaproteobacteria,
Fusobacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, and E. coli in the EB and C-EB groups.
Conclusion: The intestinal flora may be related to fetal echogenic bowel
via mucus secretion and intestinal gas production.