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Prenatal screening for microcephaly: an update after three decades

  • Shari E. Gelber EMAIL logo , Amos Grünebaum and Frank A. Chervenak
Published/Copyright: September 23, 2016
Journal of Perinatal Medicine
From the journal Journal of Perinatal Medicine Volume 45 Issue 2

Abstract

Background:

Due to the recent outbreak of Zika virus, there has been a newfound interest in fetal and neonatal microcephaly. In 1984, Chervenak et al. proposed criteria for the prenatal ultrasound diagnosis of microcephaly as ≤3 standard deviations (SD) from the mean. Despite improvements in medicine these criteria have not been reevaluated in 30 years.

Objective:

To examine how the original 1984 Chervenak et al. criteria for the diagnosis of fetal microcephaly apply to a current population utilizing modern ultrasound equipment and techniques.

Study design:

Retrospective database review of 27,697 ultrasound exams between 18 and 40 weeks’ gestation. Mean and SDs were calculated for each week of gestation from 18 to 40 completed weeks and these were compared to the 1984 data.

Results:

There is no statistically significant difference in gestational age-specific mean head circumference (HC) between the two studied populations. Because the current dataset is larger the SD differ.

Conclusions:

The 1984 ultrasound criteria for microcephaly remain valid. Physicians today have two alternatives: either use the 3SD cutoff as recommended by Chervenak et al. and endorsed by the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) or develop a new dataset for one’s population with statistical validation.

Keywords: Microcephaly; prenatal diagnosis; ultrasound; Zika virus
Corresponding author: Shari E. Gelber, MD, PhD, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, 525 East 68th Street, Box 122, New York, NY, 10065, USA, Tel.: +(212) 746-3182, Fax: +(212) 746-7364

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  1. The authors stated that there are no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this article.

Received: 2016-6-30
Accepted: 2016-8-17
Published Online: 2016-9-23
Published in Print: 2017-2-1

©2017 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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  20. Congress Calendar
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https://doi.org/10.1515/jpm-2016-0220
Keywords for this article
Microcephaly; prenatal diagnosis; ultrasound; Zika virus

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Editorial
  3. Fetal diagnosis and therapy: a continously evolving discipline
  4. Highlight articles
  5. Prenatally diagnosed fetal tumors of the head and neck: a systematic review with antenatal and postnatal outcomes over the past 20 years
  6. Prenatal screening for microcephaly: an update after three decades
  7. Fetal echocardiography: reference values for the Chinese population
  8. Multi-fetal pregnancy reduction (MFPR) to twins or singleton – medical justification and ethical slippery slope
  9. Combined screening test for trisomy 21 – is it as efficient as we believe?
  10. Fetal loss following invasive prenatal testing: a comparison of transabdominal chorionic villus sampling, transcervical chorionic villus sampling and amniocentesis
  11. Comparison of adverse perinatal outcomes after single-needle and double-needle CVS techniques
  12. Prenatal decision-making in the second and third trimester in trisomy 21-affected pregnancies
  13. Role of collagen type IV in the pathogenesis of increased prenasal thickness in Down syndrome fetuses: sonographic and immunohistological findings
  14. Congenital diaphragmatic hernia: endotracheal fluid phospholipidic profile following tracheal occlusion in an experimental model
  15. Original articles
  16. The effect of intraumbilical fetal nutrition via a subcutaneously implanted port system on amino acid concentration by severe IUGR human fetuses
  17. Anti-inflammatory Elafin in human fetal membranes
  18. Recombinant vascular endothelial growth factor 121 injection for the prevention of fetal growth restriction in a preeclampsia mouse model
  19. Estimation of fetal weight by ultrasonography after preterm premature rupture of membranes: comparison of different formulas
  20. Congress Calendar
  21. Congress Calendar
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