Comparison of fetal and neonatal sonographic measurements of ventricular size in second‐ and third‐trimester fetuses with or without ventriculomegaly: cross‐sectional three‐dimensional ultrasound study

Abstract

What are the novel findings of this work? Sonographic tools developed to assess ventriculomegaly in the neonate were applied to a fetal population, deriving, for each neonatal index, cut-offs corresponding to grading of ventriculomegaly by fetal atrial width. What are the clinical implications of this work?Until now, ventriculomegaly has been assessed using different sonographic indices in the fetus and neonate. This study provides common ground, allowing monitoring of the severity of ventriculomegaly in a continuum, from the first intrauterine evidence into the neonatal period.

Normal values of the fronto‐occipital relationship in fetuses between 18 and 40 weeks at two maternal fetal medicine units: Bogotá, Colombia

“…However, currently this cannot be extrapolated to neonatal measurements. 1,3,6,10,11 Some neonatal measurements taken by MRI such as the FOR have proven to be useful and can be extrapolated to prenatal ultrasound measurements in the diagnosis of ventriculomegaly. 10 At present, there are no nomograms regarding this measure that allow us to perform ultrasound screening and prenatal diagnosis of ventriculomegaly.…”

“…1,3,6,10,11 Some neonatal measurements taken by MRI such as the FOR have proven to be useful and can be extrapolated to prenatal ultrasound measurements in the diagnosis of ventriculomegaly. 10 At present, there are no nomograms regarding this measure that allow us to perform ultrasound screening and prenatal diagnosis of ventriculomegaly. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to determine the reference parameters of the linear measurements of the frontal and occipital horns of the lateral ventricle, as well as their relationship with each other in patients between 18 and 40 weeks of gestation who attended to 2 units of Maternal Fetal Medicine.…”

“…9 Of these, the universally recommended ultrasound parameter is the measurement of the lateral ventricle, which at present cannot be extrapolated to neonatal measurements. 1,3,6,10,11 Although these measurements have classically been established by obstetric ultrasound, 10 the MRI of the fetal brain has gained prominence allowing measurements being comparable to those performed in pediatric populations. 10 The measurement of the fronto-occipital relationship (FOR) by neonatal MRI for the diagnosis and follow-up of patients with ventriculomegaly has proven to be a useful measure that can be extrapolated to prenatal ultrasound.…”

“…1,3,6,10,11 Although these measurements have classically been established by obstetric ultrasound, 10 the MRI of the fetal brain has gained prominence allowing measurements being comparable to those performed in pediatric populations. 10 The measurement of the fronto-occipital relationship (FOR) by neonatal MRI for the diagnosis and follow-up of patients with ventriculomegaly has proven to be a useful measure that can be extrapolated to prenatal ultrasound. 10 Therefore, FOR could be relevant to prenatal examination since it would allow us an adequate correlation between prenatal and postnatal measurements.…”

“…10 The measurement of the fronto-occipital relationship (FOR) by neonatal MRI for the diagnosis and follow-up of patients with ventriculomegaly has proven to be a useful measure that can be extrapolated to prenatal ultrasound. 10 Therefore, FOR could be relevant to prenatal examination since it would allow us an adequate correlation between prenatal and postnatal measurements. In addition, the measurement of the FOR can be useful in other fetal pathologies as agenesis of the corpus callosum (splaying of the frontal horns) and lobar holoprosencephaly (fused horns).…”