title: Beyond Cervical Length: A Pilot Study of Ultrasonic Attenuation for Early Detection of Preterm Birth Risk.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine whether cervical ultrasonic attenuation could identify women at risk of spontaneous preterm birth. During pregnancy, women (n = 67) underwent from one to five transvaginal ultrasonic examinations to estimate cervical ultrasonic attenuation and cervical length. Ultrasonic data were obtained with a Zonare ultrasound system with a 5- to 9-MHz endovaginal transducer and processed offline. Cervical ultrasonic attenuation was lower at 17-21 wk of gestation in the SPTB group (1.02 dB/cm-MHz) than in the full-term birth groups (1.34 dB/cm-MHz) (p = 0.04). Cervical length was shorter (3.16 cm) at 22-26 wk in the SPTB group than in the women delivering full term (3.68 cm) (p = 0.004); cervical attenuation was not significantly different at this time point. These findings suggest that low attenuation may be an additional early cervical marker to identify women at risk for SPTB.
authors.affiliation: Department of Women Children and Family Health Science, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA. Electronic address: bmcfar1@uic.edu.
authors.forename: Barbara L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: McFarlin
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA.
authors.forename: Viksit
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA.
authors.forename: Timothy A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Bigelow
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: Douglas G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Simpson
authors.affiliation: Department of Women Children and Family Health Science, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: Rosemary C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: White-Traut
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA.
authors.forename: Jacques S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Abramowicz
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: William D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: O'Brien
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002584:Cervix Uteri / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011247:Pregnancy; D011262:Pregnancy Trimester, Second; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third; D047928:Premature Birth / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal
keywords: Cervical length; Cervical remodeling; Preterm birth; Ultrasonic attenuation