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A 24-segment fractional shortening of the fetal heart using FetalHQ

  • Toshiyuki Hata EMAIL logo , Aya Koyanagi , Tomomi Yamanishi , Saori Bouno , Riko Takayoshi , Mohamed Ahmed Mostafa AboEllail and Takahito Miyake
Published/Copyright: October 22, 2020
Journal of Perinatal Medicine
From the journal Journal of Perinatal Medicine Volume 49 Issue 3

Abstract

Objectives

To evaluate 24-segment fractional shortening (FS) of the fetal heart using FetalHQ by speckle-tracking regarding reproducibility and the change with advancing gestation.

Methods

Eighty-one pregnant women at 18–21+6 and 28–31+6 weeks of gestation were studied using FetalHQ with the speckle-tracking technique to calculate 24-segment FS of left and right ventricles. Intra- and inter-class correlation coefficients and intra- and inter-observer agreements of measurements for FS were assessed in each segment.

Results

With respect to intra-observer reproducibility, all FS values showed correlations between 0.575 and 0.862 for the left ventricle, with good intra-observer agreements except for left ventricular segments 14–24. Right ventricular FS values showed correlations between 0.334 and 0.685, with good intra-observer agreements. With respect to inter-observer reproducibility, all FS values showed correlations between 0.491 and 0.801 for the left ventricle, with good intra-observer agreements except for left ventricular segments 16–22. Right ventricular FS values showed correlations between 0.375 and 0.575, with good inter-observer agreements. There were significant differences in the mean FS values in the basal segment (segments 1–5) of the left ventricle between 18 and 21+6 and 28–31+6 weeks of gestation (p<0.05), whereas there were significant differences in all mean FS values in the right ventricle between both gestational ages (p<0.05).

Conclusions

These results suggest that the reproducibility of the 24-segment FS of the fetal heart using FetalHQ is fair. However, there may be significant differences in FS values with advancing gestational age, especially for the right ventricle.

Keywords: fetal cardiac function; fetal heart; FetalHQ; reproducibility; 24-segment fractional shortening
Corresponding author: Toshiyuki Hata MD, PhD, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Miyake Clinic, 369-8 Ohfuku, Minami-ku, Okayama 701-0204, Japan; Department of Perinatology and Gynecology, Kagawa University Graduate School of Medicine, 1750-1 Ikenobe, Miki, Kagawa 761-0793, Japan, Phone: +81 (0)87 891 2174, Fax: +81 (0)87 891 2175, E-mail:

  1. Research funding: None declared.

  2. Author contributions: All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.

  3. Competing interests: Authors state no conflict of interest.

  4. Informed consent: Informed consent was obtained from all individuals included in this study.

  5. Ethical approval: The study was conducted following approval by the Ethics Committee of Miyake Clinic, Okayama, Japan.

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Supplementary Material

The online version of this article offers supplementary material (https://doi.org/10.1515/jpm-2020-0246).

Received: 2020-06-02
Accepted: 2020-09-22
Published Online: 2020-10-22
Published in Print: 2021-03-26

© 2020 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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https://doi.org/10.1515/jpm-2020-0246
Keywords for this article
fetal cardiac function; fetal heart; FetalHQ; reproducibility; 24-segment fractional shortening

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Review
  3. Clinical evaluation of labor: an evidence- and experience-based approach
  4. Original Articles – Obstetrics
  5. How fever is defined in COVID-19 publications: a disturbing lack of precision
  6. Initial review of pregnancy and neonatal outcomes of pregnant women with COVID-19 infection
  7. Usefulness of COVID-19 screen-and-test approach in pregnant women: an experience from a country with low COVID-19 burden
  8. Clinical chorioamnionitis at term X: microbiology, clinical signs, placental pathology, and neonatal bacteremia – implications for clinical care
  9. Cytokine profiling: variation in immune modulation with preterm birth vs. uncomplicated term birth identifies pivotal signals in pathogenesis of preterm birth
  10. Hyperechoic amniotic membranes in patients with preterm premature rupture of membranes (p-PROM) and pregnancy outcome
  11. A novel technique for prediction of preterm birth: fetal nasal flow Doppler
  12. Pregnant women’s knowledge and behaviour to prevent cytomegalovirus infection: an observational study
  13. Reference intervals and reliability of cavum septi pellucidi volume measurements by three-dimensional ultrasound between 19 and 24 weeks’ gestation
  14. First-trimester presentation of ultrasound findings in trisomy 13 and validation of multiparameter ultrasound-based risk calculation models to detect trisomy 13 in the late first trimester
  15. Pre-operative tranexemic acid vs. etamsylate in reducing blood loss during elective cesarean section: randomized controlled trial
  16. External validation of a prediction model on vaginal birth after caesarean in a The Netherlands: a prospective cohort study
  17. The influence of race on cervical length in pregnant women in Brazil
  18. Original Articles – Fetus
  19. A 24-segment fractional shortening of the fetal heart using FetalHQ
  20. Original Articles – Neonates
  21. Antenatal corticosteroids and short-term neonatal outcomes in term and near-term infants of diabetic mothers. Analysis of the Qatar PEARL-peristat registry
  22. Acute respiratory effect of transpyloric feeding for respiratory exacerbation in preterm infants
  23. Quality improvement for reducing utilization drift in hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy management
  24. Letter to the Editor
  25. Cross transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and obstetric ultrasound
  26. ‘Getting to zero’ cross transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in obstetric ultrasound during COVID-19 pandemic
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