The midsagittal view of the fetal brain: a useful landmark in recognizing the cause of fetal cerebral ventriculomegaly
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Vincenzo D'Addario
, Vincenzo Pinto , Luca Di Cagno und Armando Pintucci
Abstract
Aim: To evaluate the positive predictive value of the midsagittal view of the fetal brain in recognizing the cause of ventriculomegaly diagnosed with traditional axial scan.
Methods: Fifty-eight pregnant women, referred to our Center following a generic diagnosis of ventriculomegaly have been evaluated: 38 had marked and 20 had borderline ventriculomegaly. The fetal brain was scanned by the midsagittal view using a transabdominal probe in fetuses in breech presentation or transverse lie and a transvaginal probe in fetuses in cephalic presentation. The possible cause of ventriculomegaly was postulated by combining the findings of the corpus callosum/cavum septi pellucidi complex with those of the posterior fossa. The prenatal diagnoses were compared with the anatomical specimens of aborted fetuses or with postnatal neuroimaging.
Results: The prenatal diagnoses were confirmed in 54/58 cases (PPV 93.1%). In the marked ventriculomegaly group, one case of partial agenesis of the corpus callosum was mistaken for a complete agenesis. In the group of borderline ventriculomegaly, two cases of partial agenesis of the corpus callosum were confused with a complete agenesis, while one case of suspected isolated ventriculomegaly was diagnosed after birth as partial agenesis of the corpus callosum.
Conclusions: The sagittal scan of the fetal brain is a useful source of information and allows the contemporary view of both corpus callosum and posterior fossa, where various typical sonographic findings are present in ventriculomegaly.
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©2005 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin New York
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Artikel in diesem Heft
- Traumatic experience with vacuum extraction – influence of personal preparation, physiology, and treatment during labor
- Early adequate maternal weight gain is associated with fewer small for gestational age triplets
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- The best marker combination using the integrated screening test approach for detecting various chromosomal aneuploidies
- Effects of arecoline in relaxing human umbilical vessels and inhibiting endothelial cell growth
- The assessment of fetal behavior in early pregnancy: comparison between 2D and 4D sonographic scanning
- White matter damage and chemokine induction in developing rat brain after intrauterine infection
- The midsagittal view of the fetal brain: a useful landmark in recognizing the cause of fetal cerebral ventriculomegaly
- Special relationships between fetal inflammatory response syndrome and bronchopulmonary dysplasia in neonates
- Effects of open vs. closed system endotracheal suctioning on cerebral blood flow velocities in mechanically ventilated extremely low birth weight infants
- Variability in pain expression characteristics in former preterm infants
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