title: Intrapartum assessment of caput succedaneum by transperineal ultrasound: a two-centre pilot study.
abstract: Digital assessments of caput succedaneum are subjective; however, caput succedaneum can also be expressed as ultrasound measured skin-skull distance (SSD). In this study, we aimed to compare the clinical and ultrasound assessment of caput succedaneum (caput) in nulliparous women in the first stage of labour. Furthermore, we aimed to investigate the repeatability of ultrasound measurements. We observed a significant but low correlation between clinical and ultrasound assessments (Kappa value 0.29; P < 0.01). Interobserver repeatability for SSD showed an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.96 (95% CI, 0.93-0.98). The mean difference for the caput measurements was -0.4 mm (95% CI, -0.85 to 0.05), and limits of agreement were -3.44 to 2.64 mm. We conclude that ultrasound measured SSD is an objective expression of caput with significant correlation with clinical assessment.
authors.affiliation: Fetal Medicine Department, Rosie Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK.|Fetal Medicine Centre, Medway NHS Foundation Trust, Gillingham, Kent, UK.
authors.forename: Wassim A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Hassan
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Stavanger University Hospital, Stavanger, Norway.|National Centre for Fetal Medicine, Trondheim University Hospital (St Olavs Hospital), Trondheim, Norway.
authors.forename: Torbjorn M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Eggebo
authors.affiliation: National Centre for Fetal Medicine, Trondheim University Hospital (St Olavs Hospital), Trondheim, Norway.|Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Kjell A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Salvesen
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Stavanger University Hospital, Stavanger, Norway.
authors.forename: Elsa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lindtjorn
authors.affiliation: Fetal Medicine Department, Rosie Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK.|Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK.|Department of Development and Regeneration, KU Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lees
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004487:Edema / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007747:Labor Stage, First; D015588:Observer Variation; D010502:Perineum; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012536:Scalp Dermatoses / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal / Q000379:methods*
keywords: Caesarean; labour; transperineal; ultrasound; vaginal delivery