Evaluating the Efficacy of Cervical Tactile Ultrasound Technique as a Predictive Tool for Spontaneous Preterm Birth.
Open J Obstet Gynecol
; 14(5): 832-846, 2024 May.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38845755
ABSTRACT
Background:
Premature cervical softening and shortening may be considered an early mechanical failure that predispose to preterm birth.Purpose:
This study aims to explore the applicability of an innovative cervical tactile ultrasound approach for predicting spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB). Materials andMethods:
Eligible participants were women with low-risk singleton pregnancies in their second trimester, enrolled in this prospective observational study. A Cervix Monitor (CM) device was designed with a vaginal probe comprising four tactile sensors and a single ultrasound transducer operating at 5 MHz. The probe enabled the application of controllable pressure to the external cervical surface, facilitating the acquisition of stress-strain data from both anterior and posterior cervical sectors. Gestational age at delivery was recorded and compared against cervical elasticity.Results:
CM examination data were analyzed for 127 women at 240/7 - 286/7 gestational weeks. sPTB was observed in 6.3% of the cases. The preterm group exhibited a lower average cervical stress-to-strain ratio (elasticity) of 0.70 ± 0.26 kPa/mm compared to the term group's 1.63 ± 0.65 kPa/mm with a p-value of 1.1 × 10-4. Diagnostic accuracy for predicting spontaneous preterm birth based solely on cervical elasticity data was found to be 95.0% (95% CI, 88.5 - 100.0).Conclusion:
These findings suggest that measuring cervical elasticity with the designed tactile ultrasound probe has the potential to predict spontaneous preterm birth in a cost-effective manner.
Full text:
1
Database:
MEDLINE
Language:
En
Journal:
Open J Obstet Gynecol
Year:
2024
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
United States