Assessment of fetal breathing movements using three different ultrasound modalities.
Twenty-five consecutive women in the third trimester of pregnancy were studied to determine the presence or absence of fetal breathing movements using three different ultrasound imaging techniques. Using real-time B-mode observation of the fetal trunk as the standard, image-directed pulsed wave Doppler insonation of the umbilical vein confirmed the presence of breathing movements with a sensitivity of 100% and the absence of breathing movements with a specificity of 100%. The sensitivity and specificity of color Doppler imaging of the fetal naso- and oropharynx for the presence or absence of fetal breathing movements were 96% and 100%, respectively. In the current study, the detection of fetal breathing movements by three different ultrasound modalities was virtually interchangeable.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee 37232-2519, USA.
J P
JP
Bruner
T
T
Coggins
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000502:physiology*; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D009068:Movement; D009305:Nasopharynx / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000196:embryology; D009960:Oropharynx / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000196:embryology; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011247:Pregnancy; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third; D011673:Pulsatile Flow; D012119:Respiration / Q000502:physiology*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013909:Thorax / Q000196:embryology / Q000502:physiology; D018608:Ultrasonography, Doppler / Q000379:methods*; D018615:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color; D018617:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Pulsed; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal / Q000379:methods*; D014471:Umbilical Veins / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging