J Korean Med Sci.  2019 Mar;34(9):e68. 10.3346/jkms.2019.34.e68.

Addition of Cervical Elastography May Increase Preterm Delivery Prediction Performance in Pregnant Women with Short Cervix: a Prospective Study

• Park HS
• Kwon H
• Kwak DW
• Kim MY
• Seol HJ
• Hong JS
• Shim JY
• Choi SK
• Hwang HS
• Oh MJ
• Cho GJ
• Kim K
• Oh SY
• Korean Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology Research Group

• KMID: 2441913
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2019.34.e68

Abstract

BACKGROUND
We investigated whether there is a difference in elastographic parameters between pregnancies with and without spontaneous preterm delivery (sPTD) in women with a short cervix (≤ 25 mm), and examined the ability of elastographic parameters to predict sPTD in those women.
METHODS
E-CervixTM (WS80A; Samsung Medison, Seoul, Korea) elastography was used to examine the cervical strain. Elastographic parameters were compared between pregnancies with and without sPTD. Diagnostic performance of elastographic parameters to predict sPTD ≤ 37 weeks, both alone and in combination with other parameters, was compared with that of cervical length (CL) using area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) analysis.
RESULTS
A total of 130 women were included. Median gestational age (GA) at examination was 24.4 weeks (interquartile range, 21.4-28.9), and the prevalence of sPTD was 20.0% (26/130). Both the elastographic parameters and CL did not show statistical difference between those with and without sPTD. However, when only patients with CL ≥ 1.5 cm (n = 110) were included in the analysis, there was a significant difference between two groups in elasticity contrast index (ECI) within 0.5/1.0/1.5 cm from the cervical canal (P < 0.05) which is one of elastographic parameters generated by E-Cervix. When AUC analysis was performed in women with CL ≥ 1.5 cm, the combination of parameters (CL + pre-pregnancy body mass index + GA at exam + ECI within 0.5/1.0/1.5 cm) showed a significantly higher AUC than CL alone (P < 0.05).
CONCLUSION
An addition of cervical elastography may improve the ability to predict sPTD in women with a short CL between 1.5 and 2.5 cm.

Keyword

Short Cervix; Elastography; Strain; Preterm Delivery; Ultrasonography; Pregnancy

MeSH Terms

Area Under Curve
Body Mass Index
Cervix Uteri*
Elasticity
Elasticity Imaging Techniques*
Female
Gestational Age
Humans
Pregnancy
Pregnant Women*
Prevalence
Prospective Studies*
ROC Curve
Seoul
Ultrasonography