Maternal obesity: a potential source of error in sonographic prenatal diagnosis
Article Abstract:
Obesity in pregnant women is a known risk factor for complications, and it can also lead to difficulty in visualizing the fetus using ultrasound. The extent to which maternal obesity introduces problems in fetal diagnosis using ultrasound, however, has not been determined. To this end, an evaluation of ultrasound records (sonograms) from fetuses at an average of 28.5 weeks gestational age was undertaken. The fetal head, heart, stomach, kidneys, and other organs were rated as either visualized or suboptimally visualized. Maternal weight and height were measured, and the women were divided into 10 groups according to their body mass indexes (weight divided by height squared, an index of obesity). Results from evaluation of 1,622 sonograms showed that the average body mass index (BMI) was approximately 28 kilograms per square meter. Ultrasound visualization declined as maternal BMI increased, but impairment of visualization was not statistically significant until the BMI was higher than the ninetieth percentile (36.2 kilograms per square meter). Visualization declined from an average of approximately 86 percent of the fetal organs for all fetuses measured to 63 percent in mothers who were above the ninety-seventh percentile for BMI. Poor visualization in these cases was most marked for the fetal heart, umbilical cord, and spine. Whereas ultrasound visualization improved for nonobese women as the pregnancy progressed, no such improvement occurred for obese women. The results indicate that maternal obesity can interfere with accurate fetal diagnosis using ultrasound. Obese pregnant women are at risk for misdiagnosis of fetal abnormalities. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: Obstetrics and Gynecology
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0029-7844
Year: 1990
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Telemedicine and fetal ultrasonography: assessment of technical performance and clinical feasibility
Article Abstract:
The use of telemedicine for reading fetal ultrasounds appears to be feasible and reliable. Telemedicine involves reading images remotely over computer and telephone lines either in real time or at a later time. Fetal ultrasounds of 35 women in their 14th to 38th week of pregnancy were analyzed simultaneously by the attending ultrasound technicians and by a remote physician. The technicians and the physician completely agreed on 66% of the findings. Visualization problems obscured 13 of the structures. This set-up required three digital telephone lines.
Publication Name: American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0002-9378
Year: 1997
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