O'Hara Sandra, Zelesco Marilyn, Sun Zhonghua
SKG Radiology Perth Western Australia Australia.
Discipline of Medical Radiation Sciences School of Molecular and Life Sciences Curtin University Perth Western Australia Australia.
Australas J Ultrasound Med. 2020 Dec 18;24(2):89-98. doi: 10.1002/ajum.12236. eCollection 2021 May.
The ramifications of preterm birth on society and the role of cervical length in identifying cervical insufficiency are well known. The main goal of this work was to apply shear wave elastography to the maternal cervix to assess the stiffness of the cervix and identify cervical insufficiency, using a transabdominal ultrasound approach.
Measurements of shear wave speed were obtained using a transabdominal ultrasound approach, at the anterior and posterior portions of the internal and external cervical os on 504 participants. A total of 455 participants were contacted following the expected date of birth of the fetus and birth details were obtained.
The anterior and posterior portions of the internal os showed a significant correlation between shear wave speed and time until delivery of the fetus for women who gave birth spontaneously, with Linear being 0.024 (P = 0.012) and 0.017 (P = 0.05) respectively, and these correlations increased for the group of participants that were scanned between the 18th and end of the 20th week of pregnancy to Linear = 0.043 (P = 0.001) and 0.021 (P = 0.040) respectively. A ratio of internal os/external os anteriorly also showed a correlation of Linear = 0.030 (P = 0.009).
A transabdominal ultrasound technique has identified a reduction in shear wave speeds at the internal os in the mid-trimester, in women who had a subsequent preterm birth.
早产对社会的影响以及宫颈长度在识别宫颈机能不全中的作用是众所周知的。这项工作的主要目标是采用经腹超声方法，将剪切波弹性成像应用于孕妇宫颈，以评估宫颈硬度并识别宫颈机能不全。
采用经腹超声方法，对504名参与者的宫颈内口和外口的前后部分进行剪切波速度测量。在胎儿预产期后联系了总共455名参与者，并获得了分娩细节。
对于自然分娩的女性，宫颈内口的前后部分显示，剪切波速度与胎儿分娩时间之间存在显著相关性，线性相关系数分别为0.024（P = 0.012）和0.017（P = 0.05），对于在妊娠第18周和第20周结束之间接受扫描的参与者组，这些相关性增加，线性相关系数分别为0.043（P = 0.001）和0.021（P = 0.040）。宫颈内口/外口前部的比值也显示出线性相关系数为0.030（P = 0.009）。
经腹超声技术已确定，在妊娠中期，宫颈内口的剪切波速度在随后发生早产的女性中降低。
