Stages
There are five stages to classify the severity of TTTS. This classification system was proposed by fetal surgeon Dr. Ruben Quintero and accepted by the Maternal Fetal Medicine community worldwide.
Stage I: A small amount of amniotic fluid (oligohydramnios) is found around the donor twin and a large amount of amniotic fluid (polyhydramnios) is found around the recipient twin.
Stage II: In addition to the description above, the ultrasound is not able to identify the bladder in the donor twin.
Stage III: In addition to the characteristics of Stages I and II, there is abnormal blood flow in the umbilical cords of the twins.
Stage IV: In addition to all of the above findings, the recipient twin has swelling under the skin and appears to be experiencing heart failure (fetal hydrops).
Stage V: In addition to all of the above findings, one of the twins has died. Usually the donor twin is the twin to die first, but it can happen to either.
In 2009 the question of the accuracy of the stages was brought to light. Severity of twin-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) is classified in five stages according to Quintero staging. However, the efficacy of such staging was recently debated. We reviewed the efficacy of Quintero staging to predict survival rate in TTTS treated with laser therapy. Articles reporting survival rate for each stage in TTTS treated with laser therapy were reviewed. Number of twins alive per pregnancy (NAP) was compared between early (I + II) and advanced (III + IV) stages and within stages. Meta-analysis was performed according to Meta-analysis Of Observational Studies in Epidemiology guidelines. Heterogeneity was tested with chi-square for heterogeneity at a significance level of p < 0.10, and random or fixed models were generated as appropriate. A p value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. NAP was similar between early (zero survivors: 34/228, 15%; one survivor: 49/228, 21%; two survivors: 145/228, 63%) and advanced stages (zero survivors: 38/214, 18%; one survivor: 64/214, 30%; two survivors: 112/214, 52%; p > 0.05) except for one survivor (p < 0.05). A trend for increased NAP was observed in all stages. Because clinically relevant differences were not observed, laser therapy is the optimal treatment for all stages. As Quintero staging does not provide information about prognosis, a new staging system is proposed.
Read more about this topic: Twin-to-twin Transfusion Syndrome
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