Prospective detection of open spina bifida at 11–13 weeks by assessing intracranial translucency and posterior brain
Open Access
- 10 October 2011
- journal article
- case report
- Published by Wiley in Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology
- Vol. 38 (6), 722-726
- https://doi.org/10.1002/uog.10111
Abstract
We describe a case series of six fetuses with open spina bifida (OSB) from four different prenatal units, where the anomaly was detected at the routine 11–13‐week ultrasound examination. Crown–rump length ranged from 49 to 78 mm. All cases were first suspected during nuchal translucency thickness measurement in the mid‐sagittal plane of the face. OSB was lumbosacral in five fetuses and cervical in one. The intracranial translucency (IT) was obliterated in two cases, but some fluid was found in the other four cases. However, in all cases the typical landmarks of a normal posterior brain and normal IT were absent. In all six cases the ratio of brainstem diameter to brainstem–occipital bone distance was increased (≥ 1). This detection of an abnormal posterior brain led to a targeted examination and detection of the spinal lesion during the same examination in five cases, whereas in one suspicious case the patient was recalled at 17 weeks, when the abnormality was detected. Two fetuses had both multiple anomalies and trisomy 18. These prospective cases demonstrate the feasibility of using the standard mid‐sagittal plane commonly used for NT measurement to assess the IT and the posterior brain and to determine the presence of OSB during NT screening. Copyright © 2011 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Keywords
This publication has 12 references indexed in Scilit:
- A Randomized Trial of Prenatal versus Postnatal Repair of MyelomeningoceleNew England Journal of Medicine, 2011
- Posterior brain in fetuses with open spina bifida at 11 to 13 weeksPrenatal Diagnosis, 2010
- P25.17: Intracranial translucency and open spina bifidaUltrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology, 2010
- OC12.01: Suspicion of spina bifida at the 11–14 weeks scanUltrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology, 2010
- OP15.02: Interobserver agreement and diagnostic performance of intracranial translucency in the detection of open neural tube defect at the 11–13 + 6 week scanUltrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology, 2010
- Frontomaxillary facial angle in fetuses with spina bifida at 11–13 weeks' gestationUltrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology, 2010
- Fetal spinal anomalies in a first‐trimester sonographic screening program for aneuploidyPrenatal Diagnosis, 2010
- From nuchal translucency to intracranial translucency: towards the early detection of spina bifidaUltrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology, 2010
- Assessment of intracranial translucency (IT) in the detection of spina bifida at the 11–13‐week scanUltrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology, 2009
- The Chiari II malformation: cause and impactChild's Nervous System, 2003