Abnormal Fetal Findings Associated With a Global Sphericity Index of the 4‐Chamber View Below the 5th Centile

Abstract

An abnormal GSI below the 5th centile is associated with abnormal fetal ultrasound findings.

Evaluation of the right and left ventricles: An integrated approach measuring the area, length, and width of the chambers in normal fetuses

“…The GAs of the 200 control fetuses were normally distributed, as previously reported . The mean fetal heart rate was 144 (SD 10) per minute, the mean image acquisition frame rate was 109 Hz (SD 23), and the mean frames per cardiac cycle were 46 (SD 10).…”

“…The fetuses were not at risk for congenital heart defects or growth restriction and were free from ultrasound‐detected malformations and growth disturbance at the time of the examination . The 200 fetuses were the same cohort used in previous studies from our group . All measurements were performed by a single examiner (G.R.D.)…”

“…[9][10][11] The 200 fetuses were the same cohort used in previous studies from our group. [11][12][13][14][15][16] All measurements were performed by a single examiner (G.R.D.) in an outpatient facility offering second-and third-trimester screening ultrasound for patients referred by obstetricians.…”

24‐segment sphericity index: a new technique to evaluate fetal cardiac diastolic shape

“…When there appears to be discordance between the size of the atrial and/or ventricular cardiac chambers, measurement of the size and shape of the four‐chamber view as well as the individual chambers should be considered. To facilitate assessment of the shape of the fetal ventricular chambers, in this study we evaluated measurement of the SI for each of 24 segments of each ventricle.…”

How to determine the percentage of study subjects < 5th or > 95th centile using the control group when only the mean and standard deviation are provided

“…To illustrate how the computations were derived, we used the mean and SD from a control external reference population and study group for GSI of the four‐chamber view of the fetal heart. The control group mean (1.233) and SD (0.095) were from a published study and the study data were from a group of 88 fetuses at risk for coarctation of the aorta in which the GSI values were normally distributed (Shapiro–Wilk test, P = 0.44), with a mean of 1.143 and a SD of 0.127. The following principles and equations were applied for the analysis.…”