Uterocervical angle at 20 weeks: A promising predictor of spontaneous preterm birth in twin pregnancies

Uterocervical angle in predicting spontaneous preterm birth: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…A total of 192 articles were retrieved from PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane database, WHO ICTRP, Web of Science, and ClinicalTrials.gov and through manual search. After excluding duplicates and ineligible studies, 22 studies were included in the qualitative analysis, including 11 prospective cohort studies, 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 7 retrospective cohort studies, 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 and 4 case-control studies. 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 Of note, 1 study was not included in the meta-analysis because of incomplete data.…”

“…All 22 studies included in the qualitative analysis compared UCA in sPTB and term births, with 18 studies showing a statistically significant difference 13 , 15 , 16 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 27 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 and 4 studies showing no difference. 14 , 17 , 26 , 28 Of note, 21 studies were included in the quantitative analysis, as shown in Figure 2 .…”

“… 14 , 17 , 26 , 28 Of note, 21 studies were included in the quantitative analysis, as shown in Figure 2 . 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 Of the 6895 patients included, UCA was significantly larger in the sPTB group than in the term birth controls (MD, 13.76; 95% confidence interval [CI], 10.61–16.91; P <.00001; I 2 =90%). There was significant heterogeneity in GA cutoffs for PTB, GA at the initial US, and both number of gestations and whether patients had symptoms of preterm labor.…”

“…Of note, 5 studies included in the qualitative analysis compared UCA in sPTBs and term births in twin pregnancies, with all 5 studies showing a significant difference. 20 , 24 , 25 , 27 , 29 All 5 studies were included in the quantitative analysis, as shown in Figure 4 . Of the 1037 patients included, UCA was significantly larger in the sPTB group than in the term birth controls (MD, 18.21; 95% CI, 13.64–22.77; P <.00001; I 2 =68%).…”

“…Of note, 16 studies included in the qualitative analysis compared UCA in sPTBs and term births in pregnancies without symptoms of preterm labor, with all 16 studies showing a significant difference. 13 , 16 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 24 , 25 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 34 Of the 16 studies, 15 were included in the quantitative analysis, as shown in Figure 6 . 13 , 16 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 24 , 25 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 34 Of the 5925 patients included, UCA was significantly larger in the sPTB group than in the term birth controls (MD, 16.29; 95% CI, 13.38–19.20; P <.00001; I 2 =78%).…”