Minimally invasive fetal autopsy using ultrasound: a feasibility study.
Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol
; 52(6): 776-783, 2018 Dec.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-25130705
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
To evaluate postmortem ultrasound (PM-US) for minimally invasive autopsy, and to demonstrate its feasibility, sensitivity and specificity, as compared with conventional autopsy, in detecting major congenital abnormalities.METHODS:
Over a 19-month study period from 1 March 2012 to 30 September 2013, we recruited from a referral hospital 88 consecutive fetuses, at 11-40 weeks' gestation, which had undergone termination, miscarriage or intrauterine fetal death. We performed PM-US using different transducers and compared the data with those from conventional autopsy. The latter was performed, according to the Societé Francaise de Foetopathologie (France) guidelines, by experienced perinatal pathologists who were blinded to the ultrasound data.RESULTS:
Complete virtual autopsy by ultrasound was possible in 95.5% of the cases. The sensitivity of PM-US for detecting brain abnormalities was 90.9% (95% CI, 58.7-99.8%) and the specificity was 87.3% (95% CI, 75.5-94.7%). In 20% of cases, a neuropathological examination was not possible due to severe maceration. The sensitivity for detection of thoracic abnormalities was 88.9% (95% CI, 65.3-98.6%) and the specificity was 92.8% (95% CI, 84.1-97.6%), and the sensitivity for detection of abdominal anomalies was 85.7% (95% CI, 57.2-98.2%) and the specificity was 94.6% (95% CI, 86.7-98.5%).CONCLUSION:
This pilot study confirms the feasibility of PM-US for virtual autopsy as early as 11 weeks' gestation. This new technique shows high sensitivity and specificity in detecting congenital structural abnormalities as compared with conventional autopsy. Copyright © 2014 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Autopsia
/
Anomalías Congénitas
/
Ultrasonografía Prenatal
Tipo de estudio:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Observational_studies
Límite:
Female
/
Humans
/
Pregnancy
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol
Asunto de la revista:
DIAGNOSTICO POR IMAGEM
/
GINECOLOGIA
/
OBSTETRICIA
Año:
2018
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Bélgica