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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Cardiovasc. Med.
Sec. Cardiovascular Imaging
Volume 11 - 2024 |
doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2024.1408071
This article is part of the Research Topic Unlocking the Potential of Prenatal MRI: Advances in Fetal Brain, Heart, and Placenta Imaging View all 6 articles
A Comparative Study of Fetal Cardiovascular Assessment: Utilizing Doppler Ultrasound Gated MRI and Echocardiography with Detailed Analysis Using Five Axial Views
Provisionally accepted- University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
Objectives: To investigate the diagnostic performance of fetal cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using Doppler ultrasound (DUS) gating for the evaluation of the standardized five axial views in comparison with fetal echocardiography.In this prospective study 29 pregnant women (median: 34.4 weeks of gestation) underwent fetal cardiovascular MRI using DUS gating at 3 Tesla. The standardized five axial views in prenatal screening (fetal abdomen, four-chamber view, left ventricular outflow tract, right ventricular outflow tract, and three-vessel view) were independently assessed and analysed by both fetal MRI and fetal echocardiography on the same day. Image analysis included qualitative assessment and quantitative measurements of cardiovascular structures. MR image quality was assessed using a 4-point scale (from 1=low to 4=excellent). Postnatal echocardiography was performed for validation.Results: 17/28 fetuses (60.7%) had pathological findings (16 congenital heart defect (CHD), one diaphragmatic hernia) in prenatal echocardiography. One fetus was excluded due to severe motion. Overall sensitivity and specificity in detecting fetal cardiac abnormalities was 88% and 100%, respectively, for fetal MRI and 100% and 100 % for fetal echocardiography. MR image quality for evaluation of cardiac structures was high with a mean score of 2.8 (±0.8) (score 4: 15.9%, score 3: 53.8%, score 2: 19.3%, score 1: 11%). Quantitative measurements did not differ between fetal cardiovascular MRI and fetal echocardiography (all p>0.05).Diagnostic performance of fetal cardiovascular MRI using DUS gating was comparable to fetal echocardiography. Fetal cardiovascular MRI using DUS gating might be a valuable diagnostic adjunct for the prenatal evaluation of CHD.
Keywords: Fetal MRI, fetal echocardiography, 5 axial views, congenital heart disease, DUS gating MRI, Fetal Heart
Received: 27 Mar 2024; Accepted: 02 Sep 2024.
Copyright: © 2024 Hergert, Tavares de Sousa, Herrmann, Bannas, Huber, Götz, Hecher, Adam, Dargahpour Barough and Schönnagel. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Bettina Hergert, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
Manuela Tavares de Sousa, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
Jochen Herrmann, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
Lukas Huber, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
Sophie Götz, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
Kurt Hecher, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
Gerhard Adam, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
Maryam Dargahpour Barough, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
Björn Schönnagel, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
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