1. Usefulness of MRI in evaluation of congenital fetal anomalies detected by ultrasonography.
- Author
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Khan, Naseer Ahmed, Bhat, Shabir Ahmed, and Manzoor, Samiya
- Subjects
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FETAL abnormalities , *AGENESIS of corpus callosum , *CONGENITAL disorders , *FETAL ultrasonic imaging , *ULTRASONIC imaging , *MAGNETIC resonance imaging - Abstract
Introduction: Congenital anomalies vary substantially in severity. Anomalies which affect an infant's life expectancy, health status, physcial or social functioning may be described as "major anomalies". In contrast, "minor anomalies" are those with little or no impact on health or short term or long term function. Prenatal screening for fetal malformations is an important component of prenatal care. Recent progress in the fields of maternal fetal medicine, radiology, and genetics has resulted in great advances in prenatal diagnosis. The use of fetal MRI can confirm the presence of lesions noted by ultrasound and may demonstrate additional anomalies. Fetal MRI has been performed since 1983, primarily to study central nervous system(CNS).Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is now being used in conjunction with ultrasound to provide additional information for prenatal diagnosis. The advantages of MRI include the lack of ionizing radiation, superior spatial and soft tissue resolution, relatively operator independent, better fetal anatomy delineation independent of fetal position and maternal obesity, use of multiple planes for reconstruction & a large field of view, making the visualization of complicated anomalies easier. Aim & objective: The present study was conducted with the aim to study the additional value of fetal MRI in assessment of fetuses with abnormal findings on ultrasound and focus on, Confirmation of inconclusive sonographic findings on MRI & detection of additional anomalies on MRI leading to a change in diagnosis, prognosis and management during pregnancy. Material and methods: Present study was conducted in the Postgraduate Department of Radiodiagnosis and Imaging, Government Medical College, Srinagar over a period of 18 months, after obtaining ethical clearance from institutional ethics committee. This cross- sectional study where pregnant patients with detected congenital fetal anomalies on ultrasonography were subjected to fetal MRI. The study included 68 patients with ultrasound documented fetal anomaly. The age of pregnancy was confirmed. It was made sure that the mother takes nothing by mouth for at least 4 h prior the scan to prevent postprandial motion and that she empties her bladder before the study. Results: The mean age of study group was 29 years with age ranging from 18-40 years. Maximum number of pregnant females with congenital fetal anomalies were in the age group of 28-32 years followed by 23-27 years. Most of the studies were done in 3rd trimester at 34-35 weeks followed by 28-29 weeks. The highest number (16%) of subjects were within the Gestational age 34-35 weeks. Ultrasonography detected 74 anomalies in 65 patients of the study group. The maximum anomalies detected included fetal brain and spine malformations followed by urogenital malformations. Among craniospinal anomalies the most commonly detected abnormality was Ventriculomegaly (17% ) and Chiari 2 malformation (10 %). MRI detected 88 anomalies in 65 patients of the study group. The maximum anomalies detected included fetal brain and spine malformations followed by urogenital malformations. Corpus callosum agenesis/dysgenesis and Chiari 2 malformations were the most commonly detected craniospinal malformations by MRI with a prevalence of 9.1 % each. MRI confirmed USG diagnosis with additional findings in 29.5% of cases, changed USG diagnosis in 20.5% of cases and changed USG diagnosis to normal in 9% of the cases resulting in an overall Change in diagnosis in 59% patients of the study group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022