Department of Ultrasound, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Quanzhou, PR China.
Department of Ultrasound, Children's Hospital of Quanzhou, Quanzhou, PR China.
J Obstet Gynaecol Res. 2020 Apr;46(4):587-594. doi: 10.1111/jog.14202. Epub 2020 Feb 3.
The aim of this study is to investigate if three-dimensional (3D) ultrasonography is a reliable diagnosis method for prenatal tethered cord syndrome (TCS) by measuring fetal conus distance (CD) in comparison to two-dimensional (2D) ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
This retrospective study included 468 normal fetuses as control group and 14 TCS fetuses as tethered group. CD were measured by 2D, 3D ultrasonography and MRI, and the reliability and repeatability of CD measurement was compared between two experienced ultrasound specialists or among the multiple measurements for each specialist.
The results showed that 3D ultrasonography was superior to 2D ultrasonography in the repeatability of measuring CD. The CD were positively correlated to gestational ages in control group (P < 0.05). The CD of TCS group (-1.342 ± 0.124) was significantly shorter than that of normal control group (0.013 ± 0.965) (P < 0.01). There were no significant differences in the effectiveness of locating conus medullaris and measuring CD between 3D ultrasonography and MRI.Conclusion Measurement of fetal CD with 3D ultrasonography can serve as a reliable and cost-effective prenatal diagnosis method for TCS.
本研究旨在通过测量胎儿圆锥距离（CD），比较三维（3D）超声与二维（2D）超声和磁共振成像（MRI），探讨 3D 超声是否为产前脊髓栓系综合征（TCS）的可靠诊断方法。
本回顾性研究纳入 468 例正常胎儿作为对照组和 14 例 TCS 胎儿作为栓系组。由两位经验丰富的超声专家分别采用 2D、3D 超声和 MRI 测量 CD，并比较两位专家间或每位专家多次测量 CD 的可靠性和可重复性。
结果显示，3D 超声在测量 CD 的重复性方面优于 2D 超声。对照组中 CD 与胎龄呈正相关（P<0.05）。TCS 组的 CD（-1.342±0.124）明显短于正常对照组（0.013±0.965）（P<0.01）。3D 超声与 MRI 在定位圆锥和测量 CD 的效果方面无显著差异。结论：3D 超声测量胎儿 CD 可作为 TCS 的一种可靠且具有成本效益的产前诊断方法。
