TITLE:
The Use of a High Frequency Linear Transducer in the Assessment of Fetal Anatomy at the Routine 11 to 13 + 6-Week Scan among Chinese Population
AUTHORS:
Shui Lam Mak, Kam On Kou, Chung Fan Poon, Wei Ling Teresa Ma, Kwok Yin Leung
KEYWORDS:
Ultrasonography, First-Trimester, Transducter, Fetal, Anatomy
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Vol.5 No.10,
September
2,
2015
ABSTRACT: Objectives: To determine if the use of high frequency linear transducer
(HFLT) in addition to conventional curvilinear transducer (CCT) aids assessment
of fetal cardiac and non-cardiac anatomy in the first trimester. Methods:
Transabdominal CCT (4 - 8 MHz) followed by HFLT (9 MHz) was used to study
prospectively the visualization rate of basic and optional anatomical
structures according to international guidelines. McNemar and Chi-square test
were used to compare correlated and independent proportions respectively.
Postnatal outcomes were traced. Results: Comparing with CCT alone, additional
use of HFLT did not improve the completion rate of basic anomaly screen (95.0%
vs. 97.0%, p = 0.5) in the 101 women studied, but it improved the visualization
rate of some optional structures including lens (57.4% vs. 73.3%), three-vessel view (3 VV) (17.8% vs. 48.5%), left ventricular outflow tract (17.8% vs. 51.5%), kidneys (8.9% vs. 47.5%), and
umbilical artery (86.1% vs. 93.1%) (all p