title: Accuracy of real-time sonography in the determination of fetal viability.
abstract: After 8 weeks of fetal age, real-time ultrasonography is a simple, rapid, and highly reliable technic for differentiating a viable from a dead fetus. Fetal movements are invariably detected after 8 weeks of fetal life, and a discrete, fluid-filled, intrathoracic pulsating heart can be seen after 11-12 weeks of fetal life. Absence of these findings, as observed by two independent examiners each viewing the fetus for 3 minutes with real-time sonography, provides reliable evidence of fetal demise. A prospective evaluation of 390 consecutive fetuses yielded only one false positive diagnosis of fetal viability. No living fetus was diagnosed as being dead.
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D005313:Fetal Death / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005318:Fetal Heart; D005333:Fetus / Q000502:physiology; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014463:Ultrasonography