Congenital Anomalies Clinical Trial
Official title:
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Versus Four Dimensional Ultrasound in Detection of Central Nervous System Fetal Congenital Anomalies
Congenital central nervous system (CNS) anomalies are common and most devastating. They occur
in frequency of about 1.4 to 1.6 per 1000 live births but are seen in about 3-6% of still
births.They account for 40% of deaths of all infants in the first year of life. In survivors,
they cause a variety of neurological disorders, mental retardation or drug resistant
epilepsy.
CNS anomalies are usually compatible with life, prolonged hospitalization, higher health care
costs, uncertain future life quality and significant burden to families and society.
Early detection of congenital CNS anomalies gives time available for the clinician and
parents to plan about the outcome of pregnancy.
Prenatal ultrasound has been well established for decades as the primary technique for
evaluating the developing fetus in normal as well as in high risk cases. Advantages of US
include widespread availability, relatively low cost and quick, lack of harmful effect to
fetus or mother and real time imaging.
Although ultrasound can characterize many anomalies accurately, it has many limitations as
operator dependent, small field of view, and relatively poor soft-tissue contrast, beam
attenuation by maternal adipose tissue and fetal bone, limited visualization of posterior
fossa after 33 weeks gestation because of calvarial calcification. Also, ultrasound relies
heavily on fetal positioning and presence of sufficient amniotic fluid to provide an adequate
acoustic window fetus So, US findings are occasionally incomplete or inconclusive to guide
treatment choices.
Fetal brain MRI became embraced as a clinically important imaging technique useful for fetal
assessment, which is helpful in formulating prognosis and perinatal management and can detect
occult abnormalities in up to 50% of cases for certain indications.
It can overcome many of ultrasound limitations as it is not limited by maternal obesity,
fetal position, or oligohydramnios. Additionally, it has better soft tissue contrast
resolution, as well as the ability to distinguish individual fetal structures such as brain,
lung, liver, kidney, and bowel. In addition, visualization of the brain is not restricted by
the ossified skull. Moreover, MRI provides multiplanar imaging as well a larger field of
view, facilitating examination of fetuses with large or complex anomalies.
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| Status | Clinical Trial | Phase | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Completed |
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N/A | |
| Enrolling by invitation |
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||
| Completed |
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