Medical legal consideration in ultrasound diagnostics of fetal osteopathology

The provision of complete, updated and understadble information (of which there must be a written record) is an indispensable prerequisite for any medical act; it has considerable importance in the obstetric-gynecological field in consideration of the time limits imposed by the legislature to proceed with the voluntary interruption of pregnancy in the presence of significant malformation anomalies of the unborn child. The pregnant woman must be informed about the possibility of a late onset (after birth) of the osteopathy or its worsening during gestation, the degree of diagnostic accuracy of the ultrasound examination in identifying these malformations and the impossibility of this investigation to detect associated functional anomalies (metabolism disorders, hemopathies, mental retardation), evidence that the majority of osteopathies are identifiable only through molecular genetic investigation and that only the geneticist is able to predict the prognosis. In the presence of osteopathy on ultrasound examination, the operator must request specialist opinions, first of all genetic counseling, to better characterize the anomaly. The healthcare professional must update their scientific knowledge and behave in accordance with the most recent acquisitions in the medical field.