Antepartum prediction of pulmonary hypoplasia: an elusive goal?

Diagnosis of fetal pulmonary hypoplasia could be of great benefit to the obstetrician in the management of those pregnancies complicated by prolonged preterm ruptured membranes. Ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging were employed for fetal diagnosis of pulmonary hypoplasia and we were unable to predict accurately those fetuses with pulmonary hypoplasia using two different published ultrasound formulas. Moreover, magnetic resonance imaging appears not to offer any advantages over sonographic evaluation in the diagnosis of fetal pulmonary hypoplasia.