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Objective To evaluate the value of fetal dual Doppler ultrasonography in the diagnosis of fetal arrhythmias.Methods 77 53 1 fetuses were examined by echocardiography.If fetal arrhythmias were found,information of pulsed wave Doppler signals in hepatic vein(HV) and descending aorta(DAo) using dual Doppler were collected simultaneously.Results On dual Doppler examination,13 1 of the fetuses showed signals of cardiac dysrhythmias,including 60 fetuses with irregular fetal heart rhythm but having normal heart rate,45 with tachyarrhythmias and 26 with bradyarrhythmias.Sixteen and 2 with tachy- or bradyarrhythmias fetuses complicated fetal malformation or severely maternal systemic diseases.Eighteen and 3 with tachy- or bradyarrhythmias fetuses revealed intrauterine death or intermediate pregnancy induction.The three main kinds of fetal arrhythmias had statistical differences in complicating with fetal malformation,maternal diseases,intrauterine fetal demise or intermediate pregnancy induction(all P <0.05).There was a significant difference in the accuracy of diagnosing rhythm abnormalities in the fetus between conventional ultrasonography and dual Doppler ultrasonography(k = 0.562,P < 0.05).Sixty cases of irregular fetal heart rhythm,42 cases of fetal tachyarrhythmias,and 8 cases of fetal bradyarrhythmias were changed to normal rhythm at the third-pregnancy or prenatal period through appropriate treatment.All surviving fetuses were examined by echocardiography within 3 days,without any combination of congenital heart disease,and 1 months after the delivery,the ECG were shown as sinus rhythm.Conclusions Dual Doppler ultrasonography is a precise and rapid method of assessing various types of fetal arrhythmias.Different types of fetal arrhythmias have different fetal prognosis.
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Objective To determine the normal position of the fetal conus medullaris and assess its clinical significance.Methods A total of 550 singleton pregnant women who were examined by fetal ultrasonography in the Department of Ultrasound at the Second Hospital of Fujian Medical University from June 1, 2013 to September 31, 2014 were included.Inclusion criteria were pregnancies with regular menstruation cycle and known last menstrual period, gestational age (GA) confirmed by ultrasonographic examinations, and neonate abnormality excluded by pediatrician after born.Routine obstetric ultrasound examinations were performed to measure the biparietal diameter (BPD), femur length (FL), head circumference (HC) and abdominal circumference (AC).The conus distance (CD) was determined by measuring the distance between the distal end of the conus medullaris and the caudal end of the last vertebra.The average value was calculated for each group according to GA.Fifty normal fetuses were randomly selected for quality control.For inter-observer reliability assessment, the same data were collected and analyzed by two different operators.For intra-observer reliability assessment, the data were collected and analyzed twice by the same operator with an interval of half an hour.Linear regression correlation analysis was performed to analyze the relationship between CD and GA, BPD, FL, HC and AC.Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Bland-Altman analysis were used to analyze the repeatability of the analysis.Results In 518 (94.2％) of 550 fetuses, the CD was successfully measured.Positively correlations between the conus distance and the gestational age was observed.The CD was (10.0± 3.3) mm at ＞ 14-≤ 15 weeks (n=17), (27.7±3.8) mm at ＞ 20-≤ 21 weeks of gestation (n=18), (41.5±2.4) mm at ＞ 26-≤ 27 weeks (n=8), (54.7±3.0) mm at ＞ 32-≤ 33 weeks (n=17), and (71.9±2.7) mm at ＞ 41-≤ 42 weeks (n=6).Linear regression correlations between CD (mm) and FL, AC, HC, BPD and GA were:CD=1.04× FL (mm)-8.71, CD=0.23 × AC (mm)-10.11, CD=0.28× HC (mm)-18.10, CD=0.90× BPD (mm)-17.65, CD=2.34× GA (weeks)-20.94 (r=0.990, 0.985, 0.978, 0.974 and 0.973, respectively, all P ＜ 0.01).The measurement of the conus distance exhibited good reproducibility between different operators (ICC=0.984, 95％CI: 0.972-0.991) and for the same operator (ICC=0.992, 95％CI: 0.985-0.995) with the 95％ limits of agreement of-1.8 to 3.5 mm and-4.3 to 2.1 mm.Bland-Altman analysis showed that most of the measured values were within 95％ confidence interval suggesting good consistency.Conclusions The distance, between the end of the conus medullaris and the end of the last vertebral body under ultrasound scan, is positively correlated with FL and other ultrasonographic indicators, which implies that it could be used as a new index for position of fetal conus medullaris.
ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the measurement standards and clinical application of observing anatomical morphologies and contractile function of puborectalis muscle on pelvic floor parasagittal plane by endoluminal two-dimensional ultrasonography.Methods The thickness and thickening rate of puborectalis muscle of 78 young nulliparous women were measured on pelvic floor parasagittal plane at three levelsurethral level (anterior),vaginal level (central) and rectal level (posterior),both at rest and during contraction.And the thickening rates of these parts during contraction were compared with each other.Interclass correlation coefficients were calculated to evaluate the consistency of the datas.Results At rest,thickness of anterior part of the left was (9.23 ± 0.20)mm,and that of the right was (8.99 ± 0.20)mm.During contraction,thickness of anterior parts of bilateral puborectalis muscle were significantly thicker than that of central or posterior parts (P ＜0.05).The interclass coefficients were more than 0.93 and 0.83.Conclusions The endoluminal two-dimensional ultrasonography can be used to observe morphologies and contractile function dynamically of puborectalis on pelvic floor parasagittal plane.It is simple,reproducible and worthy of clinical promotion.