Ankara University School of Medicine, Turkey.
Eur J Radiol. 2012 Feb;81(2):e123-5. doi: 10.1016/j.ejrad.2010.12.090. Epub 2011 Feb 5.
To find out whether nuchal cord causes an effect on the nuchal skin fold thickness (NFT) measurements, or not.
A total of 242 fetuses with normal outcomes that had undergone detailed second trimester US scan between 18 and 24 weeks of gestation were included in the study. NFT measurements were made on axial cranial US images passing through the cerebellum and cavum septi pellucidum. To detect nuchal cord, color Doppler imaging was performed on the axial views of the fetal neck. To investigate the differences in NFT measurements of the fetuses with or without nuchal cord, statistical analysis was performed using Mann-Whitney test. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
The study group was divided into two groups: nuchal cord (+) (n: 26) and nuchal cord (-) (n: 216) fetuses. Mean NFT measurements were 4.66 ± 0.64 mm and 4.36 ± 0.79 mm for nuchal cord (+) and nuchal cord (-) fetuses, respectively. Median NFT measurement for nuchal cord (+) fetuses was 4.6mm, whereas it was 4.4mm for nuchal cord (-) fetuses. Statistically significant difference was denoted between two groups, in terms of NFT measurements (P = 0.049).
NFT measurements of fetuses with nuchal cord are higher than the NFT measurements of fetuses without nuchal cord. One can conclude that the nuchal cord (+) fetuses with no other anomalies but increased NFT should be re-scanned to see if the increased NFT resolves in the absence of nuchal cord.
探讨脐带是否会影响颈项皮肤皱褶厚度（NFT）的测量值。
本研究共纳入 242 例孕 18-24 周行详细中孕期超声检查且结局正常的胎儿。NFT 测量在经小脑和透明隔腔的轴向颅脑超声图像上进行。为了检测脐带，在胎儿颈部的轴位视图上进行彩色多普勒成像。为了研究有或无脐带的胎儿 NFT 测量值的差异，使用 Mann-Whitney 检验进行统计学分析。P<0.05 被认为具有统计学意义。
研究组分为两组：有脐带（+）（n：26）和无脐带（-）（n：216）胎儿。有脐带的胎儿 NFT 测量值的平均值为 4.66±0.64mm，无脐带的胎儿 NFT 测量值的平均值为 4.36±0.79mm。有脐带的胎儿 NFT 中位数为 4.6mm，而无脐带的胎儿 NFT 中位数为 4.4mm。两组之间 NFT 测量值存在显著差异（P=0.049）。
有脐带的胎儿 NFT 测量值高于无脐带的胎儿 NFT 测量值。因此，可以得出结论，对于仅存在 NFT 增加而无其他异常的有脐带（+）胎儿，应重新扫描以确定在没有脐带的情况下 NFT 是否会减少。
