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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Pediatr.
Sec. Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fped.2024.1442866

Prenatal diagnosis of midgut volvulus by fetal MRI：A retrospective study

Provisionally accepted
Chenguang Kou Chenguang Kou Duo Gao Duo Gao *Lixia Zhou Lixia Zhou *
  • Department of Medical Imaging, Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    BACKGROUND: Fetal midgut volvulus is a rare disease, with high risk of potentially life threatening fetal complications.The aim of this study was to retrospectively analyze the imaging findings of fetal midgut volvulus diagnosed by MRI and explore its value in non-invasive prenatal diagnosis.Retrospective collection of 156 fetuses suspected of intestinal obstruction by ultrasound examination in our hospital. All ultrasound examinations showed fetal intestinal dilation, and fetal MRI diagnosis suspected midgut volvulus in 32 cases(32/156), of which 18 cases(18/32) underwent surgical treatment in neonatal period were confirmed to have midgut volvulus. MRI imaging signs in the 18 fetuses with midgut volvulus were analyzed.During MRI examination, all the 18 fetuses showed gastric and/or intestinal dilatation, most of which showed different degree of obstruction in T1WI and T2WI, showing 'black and white sign' (14/18), 'whirlpool sign' (10/18) and 'coffee beans sign' (6/18). High signal changes in DWI sequence were observed in intestinal tubes with ischemia and infarction. Direct signs of vascular torsion were observed in some cases (8/18). MRI imaging signs indicated fetal midgut volvulus with hydramnios (16/18), meconium pseudocyst (7/18), meconium peritonitis (4/18), testicular hydrocele (3/18), and secondary pulmonary dysplasia (6/18). The operation confirmed the diagnosis of segmental midgut volvulus in 15 cases, complete midgut volvulus in 3 cases, and combined with intestinal atresia in 8 cases.Prenatal MRI plays an important role in the diagnosis of fetal midgut volvulus and the discovery of its complications, which can guide the treatment after birth and provide reference for the prognosis.

    Keywords: Intestinal Obstruction, Midgut volvulus, Meconium pseudocyst, Prenatal Diagnosis, Magnetic Resonance Imaging

    Received: 03 Jun 2024; Accepted: 19 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Kou, Gao and Zhou. 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:
    Duo Gao, Department of Medical Imaging, Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China
    Lixia Zhou, Department of Medical Imaging, Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.