Evaluation of the right and left ventricles: An integrated approach measuring the area, length, and width of the chambers in normal fetuses.
Publication Title
Prenatal diagnosis
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-1-2017
Keywords
california
Abstract
Introduction: The purpose of this study was to simultaneously measure with speckle tracking software the end-diastolic ventricular area (A), basal transverse width (BW), mid-chamber transverse width (MW), and basal-apical length (BAL) in normal fetuses and those with pathology.
Methods: The 4-chamber view of the fetal heart was obtained in 200 control fetuses between 20 and 40 weeks of gestation and in 9 third-trimester fetuses with heart malformations. The mean and standard deviation for the A, BW, MW, and BAL were computed from the control fetuses and Z scores computed from the 9 fetuses with cardiac malformations.
Results: The A, BAL, BW, and MW were correlated with 7 somatic and age-independent variables (R2 = .63-.85). The highest R2 values occurred for the head circumference, estimated fetal weight, and ultrasound mean gestational age (.82-.85). Z-score values and centiles from the 9 fetuses with cardiac malformations suggested that the A, BW, MW, and BAL were below or above the 5th and 95th centiles as expected for the corresponding ventricular pathology.
Conclusions: This study reports an integrated approach to evaluate the end-diastolic size of the right and left ventricular chambers and demonstrated clinical utility in fetuses with cardiac malformations.
Area of Special Interest
Women & Children
Area of Special Interest
Cardiovascular (Heart)
Specialty/Research Institute
Perinatology/Neonatology
Specialty/Research Institute
Cardiology
Specialty/Research Institute
Obstetrics & Gynecology
DOI
10.1002/pd.5166
