Prediction of neonatal respiratory morbidity by quantitative ultrasound lung texture analysis: a multicenter study.

BACKGROUND: Prediction of neonatal respiratory morbidity may be useful to plan delivery in complicated pregnancies. The limited predictive performance of the current diagnostic tests together with the risks of an invasive procedure restricts the use of fetal lung maturity assessment. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to evaluate the performance of quantitative ultrasound texture analysis of the fetal lung (quantusFLM) to predict neonatal respiratory morbidity in preterm and early-term (<39.0 weeks) deliveries. STUDY DESIGN: This was a prospective multicenter study conducted in 20 centers worldwide. Fetal lung ultrasound images were obtained at 25.0-38.6 weeks of gestation within 48 hours of delivery, stored in Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine format, and analyzed with quantusFLM. Physicians were blinded to the analysis. At delivery, perinatal outcomes and the occurrence of neonatal respiratory morbidity, defined as either respiratory distress syndrome or transient tachypnea of the newborn, were registered. The performance of the ultrasound texture analysis test to predict neonatal respiratory morbidity was evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 883 images were collected, but 17.3% were discarded because of poor image quality or exclusion criteria, leaving 730 observations for the final analysis. The prevalence of neonatal respiratory morbidity was 13.8% (101 of 730). The quantusFLM predicted neonatal respiratory morbidity with a sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of 74.3% (75 of 101), 88.6% (557 of 629), 51.0% (75 of 147), and 95.5% (557 of 583), respectively. Accuracy was 86.5% (632 of 730) and positive and negative likelihood ratios were 6.5 and 0.3, respectively. CONCLUSION: The quantusFLM predicted neonatal respiratory morbidity with an accuracy similar to that previously reported for other tests with the advantage of being a noninvasive technique.

Outcomes following selective fetoscopic laser ablation for twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome: a single-centre experience.

INTRODUCTION: Fetoscopic laser photocoagulation (FLP), a treatment option for twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) in monochorionic twin pregnancies, is currently the treatment of choice at our centre. We previously reported on our experience of FLP from June 2011 to March 2014. This paper audits our fetal surgery performance since then. METHODS: 15 consecutive patients who underwent FLP for Stage II-III TTTS before 26 weeks of gestation from June 2011 to January 2017 were retrospectively reviewed, consisting of five cases from our initial experience and ten subsequent cases. Perioperative, perinatal and neonatal outcomes were analysed. RESULTS: Of 15 pregnancies, 10 (66.7%) and 5 (33.3%) were for Stage II and III TTTS respectively, with FLP performed at an earlier Quintero stage in the later cohort. Overall mean gestational ages at presentation, laser and delivery were comparable between the cohorts at 19.7 (15.4-24.3) weeks, 20.3 (16.3-25.0) weeks and 31.2 (27.6-37.0) weeks, respectively. 2 (13.3%) cases had intra-amniotic bleeding and 1 (6.7%) had iatrogenic septostomy. 1 (6.7%) case had persistent TTTS requiring repeat FLP, and another (6.7%) had preterm premature rupture of membranes at seven weeks post procedure. The overall perinatal survival rate was 21 (75.0%) out of 28 infants. One mother underwent termination of pregnancy for social reasons at 1.4 weeks post procedure. Double survival occurred in 8 (57.1%) out of 14 pregnancies, while 13 (92.9%) had at least one survivor. CONCLUSION: FLP requires a highly specialised team and tertiary neonatal facility. Continual training improves maternal and perinatal outcomes, ensuring comparable standards with international centres.

Gender-Specific Reference Charts of Fetal Head Circumference in a Singaporean Population.

INTRODUCTION: With the global outbreak of Zika virus and its association with microcephaly, an up-to-date fetal head circumference (HC) nomogram is crucial to offer a reference standard in order to make an accurate diagnosis. This study was conducted to revise the local fetal HC nomogram. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this retrospective study, ultrasound data was used for construction of the fetal HC nomogram from a total of 6155 pregnancies in the ethnic Chinese population with low risk profile at KK Women's and Children's Hospital over a 10-year period. Regression model was fitted to calculate the mean and standard deviation of HC at each gestational age (GA). Comparison of HC between ethnic groups (no significant differences) and genders were made. The revised chart was compared with another commonly used reference chart (Hadlock). In an independent test population, different reference charts were used to estimate number of cases with microcephaly. RESULTS: A statistically significant difference of HC between the genders was observed across all gestational ages. Gender-specific reference charts and equation were computed. Our revised fetal HC chart showed a different distribution from the Hadlock chart. Compared with the gender-specific charts, the Hadlock HC chart would significantly under-report microcephaly cases in male fetuses, and tend to over-report in female fetuses. CONCLUSION: This study provides a new set of gender-specific fetal HC charts in the Singaporean population for antenatal ultrasound surveillance of microcephaly.