Ultrasound accelerates fibrinolysis in vitro and in vivo, primarily through non-thermal mechanisms including cavitation. We have previously observed that ultrasound reversibly increases flow through fibrin gels, a property primarily determined by the structure of the fibrin matrix. Therefore, the effect of ultrasound on the ultrastructure of fibrin gels was examined ...

We describe new charts and tables for dating pregnancies derived from data collected in a study designed to enable the construction of these and charts of fetal size. This was a prospective study in which 663 fetuses seen in the routine ultrasound clinic in a London teaching hospital were scanned ...

The objectives of the study were (1) to assess whether prenatal ultrasound examinations affected the prevalence of congenital anomalies at birth and the incidence of terminations of pregnancy for fetal anomalies and (2) to examine the detection rate of the main fetal anomalies. We studied all births and stillbirths with ...

An 11-year-old boy is described who was born with a poorly developed right foot. At 16 weeks gestation his mother had had amniocentesis without direct ultrasound guidance. After the insertion of the amniocentesis needle, she felt strong abdominal resistance, which disappeared with slight withdrawal of the needle. Then, real-time ultrasound ...

Some clinician physicians who provide perinatal care find that they have the motivation and practice volume to learn diagnostic ultrasonographic skills. These skills may be limited to labor and delivery applications or may extend to performance of the standard antepartum obstetric ultrasound examination. Limited skills include the diagnosis of fetal ...

We studied endometrial thickness and homogeneity in 36 patients with postmenopausal bleeding using three-dimensional ultrasound following distention of the uterine cavity with a sterile saline solution (3D-SHSG). Results with 3D-SHSG were compared with findings using transvaginal sonography, transvaginal sonohysterography, transvaginal color Doppler, and hysteroscopy. Sixteen patients (including three on tamoxifen) ...

Two cases of conjoined twins were diagnosed during first-trimester endovaginal ultrasound and were confirmed by embryoscopy performed prior to the termination of pregnancy. An early and accurate diagnosis of this anomaly, obtained by the combined use of ultrasound and endoscopy, may enable adequate counselling and an earlier termination of pregnancy ...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the possibility of early diagnosis of Jarcho-Levin syndrome by ultrasound examination of the fetus. Over a period of 5 years, nine women from one Arab family, known to carry an autosomal recessive form of the disease, were prospectively and repeatedly examined using ...

We describe a patient with an unusual neonatal disseminated form of neurofibromatosis (NF1). Prenatal ultrasound studies, at 35 weeks of gestation, revealed ambiguous external genitalia, an increased biparietal diameter and a decreased growth of long bones. Postnatal examination displayed generalized neurofibromatosis, with perineal, thoracic and spinal cord invasion by tumors. ...

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To determine the accuracy and application of pelvic ultrasound performed by emergency physicians in detecting ectopic pregnancy (EP) in complicated first-trimester pregnancies. METHODS: We studied consecutive pelvic ultrasounds performed in all women who presented with abdominal pain or vaginal bleeding during the first trimester of pregnancy over a ...

Fetal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy can be diagnosed at birth by means of cerebral ultrasound scanning. The morphological appearance of the lesions depends on the time elapsed between the insult and examination of the brain. We report a case of a neonate affected by multicystic encephalomalacia and corpus callosum atrophy attributable to ...

The purposes of this study are to compare the reproducibility of two-dimensional ultrasound (2DUS) and three-dimensional ultrasound (3DUS) in the assessment of fetal liver volume (LV), and to test whether the fetal LV assessed by the traditional method with 2DUS is equal to that with 3DUS in normal pregnancy. If ...

The developmental age of an embryo in the first trimester of pregnancy is generally determined by ultrasound scanning and/or by calculation from menstrual age. In the original studies, validation of the estimate of gestational age by ultrasound was not possible as the exact date of conception was unknown. Variation in ...

Prenatal diagnosis performed by fetal ultrasound scan is now a routine part of antenatal care in many countries. That an increasing number of fetal anomalies may be detected on prenatal ultrasound is beyond doubt. However what is theoretically possible is not, always done in practice specially when gastrointestinal atresias (GIA) ...

Various methodological pitfalls preclude simple validation of the ostensible safety of offspring conceived thorough assisted reproductive technologies (ART). These pitfalls include lack of an appropriate comparison group (control), failure to take into account potential confounding variables, anomaly surveillance that is either too rigorous or too lax compared to the way ...

The study was planned to determine the proportion of parents that wish to know the sex of their fetus at the 20-week anomaly scan, and to investigate our ability to diagnose correctly the sex of the fetus when undertaken as part of a routine scan. A total of 472 patients ...

We evaluated the proficiency of obstetrics senior house officers, not formally trained in ultrasonography, in assessing fetal viability, the number of fetuses and gestational age. Of 366 women who had an ultrasound examination at the first antenatal visit, 7 (2.1%) had nonviable pregnancies and 7 pairs of twins were correctly ...

OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency with which one or both normal ovaries can be visualized during a routine obstetric ultrasound examination. METHODS: The population consisted of 5617 pregnant women at 5.0-39.9 weeks' gestation, studied cross-sectionally. The sonographic visualization rate for one or both normal ovaries, as well as their position ...

OBJECTIVE: To ascertain the prevalence and clinical significance of small hyperechogenic foci detected in the fetal left ventricle in routine ultrasound screening of pregnant women attending our hospital. POPULATION AND METHODS: From April 1994 to April 1995, 1135 consecutive pregnant women examined at the obstetric ultrasound unit of our hospital ...

In a 12-week gestation fetus, routine ultrasound examination suggested dilated loops of bowel. Repeat scans at 13 and 15 weeks showed normal growth but persistence of bowel dilatation. At 20 weeks there was megacystis, hyperechogenic bowel, ascites, and oligohydramnios. The diagnosis of cloacal abnormality was suspected and the parents chose ...

Our objective was to determine the pregnancy outcome after targeted sonography performed for the evaluation of second-trimester oligohydramnios fails to visualize the fetal bladder. A retrospective review identified patients in 1990-94 who were referred for targeted sonography from 16 to 24 weeks to evaluate oligohydramnios. The ultrasound records and photographs ...

Thanatophoric dysplasia is one of the most common skeletal dysplasia, with an incidence from 1:6,400 to 1:100,000 births. While the etiology is unknown, either autosomal recessive or polygenic transmission with 0.2% recurrence risk had been suggested. It is a lethal disorder characterized by extremely short ribs, tubular bones and macrocephaly. ...

The quality of prenatal ultrasound may be influenced by different factors. In this study, the influence of the experience of the investigator on the quality of routine ultrasound screening during pregnancy was evaluated. We related the detection rate of fetal malformations in routine ultrasound screening in the region of Vienna ...

The objective of this study was to evaluate routine obstetric ultrasound in detecting fetal structural anomalies and the impact of changing clinical practice on success rates. A retrospective study of routine ultrasound in a population of 6,869 pregnancies was performed during 1985-86 (phase 1) to establish efficacy of ultrasound in ...

Cataracts are lens opacities that account for approximately 10% of blindness in children. We report on four consecutive pregnancies in a woman at risk for recurrent autosomal dominant cataracts in which extensive ultrasound studies were helpful in establishing the correct diagnosis. The normal appearance of the fetal lens is that ...

OBJECTIVE: To study prospectively the prediction power, at different gestations, of clinical and ultrasound measurements for fetal size in diabetic pregnancy. SETTING: A large combined obstetric diabetic clinic in a teaching hospital. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred and eighty-one pregnancies in which women had scans at least two of three specific time ...

BACKGROUND: Second trimester routine ultrasound evaluation of the fetal heart by means of the four-chamber view has been proposed for prenatal detection of cardiac anomalies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of this procedure. METHODS AND RESULTS: A prospective follow-up study on 6922 scanned fetuses was ...

Treacher Collins syndrome is an autosomal dominant disorder of facial development, the features of which include conductive hearing loss and cleft palate. In the current investigation, linkage analysis has been used to make first trimester diagnostic predictions in a pregnancy at high risk of producing an affected child. The results ...

Ultrasound and Doppler imaging have proven to be valuable antepartum diagnostic tools for the early recognition of vasa previa. Recent reports have demonstrated that successful detection and timely management can subsequently reduce the risk of a life-threatening fetal hemorrhage. We present the fourth reported case of vasa previa detected antenatally ...

In Greece repetitive and intensive fetal scanning is now a universal feature of prenatal care. This article examines some of the ways in which pregnant women and obstetricians experience the intensive use of fetal ultrasound in a small city in eastern Greece. Based on observations and interviews conducted in a ...

BACKGROUND: Gastroschisis is an uncommon condition in which viscera protrude at the base of the umbilical cord. To investigate the possible relationships between antenatal ultrasound findings, patient demographics, smoking, alcohol consumption and this condition, 21 causes are reviewed. METHODS: The medical records and antenatal ultrasounds of 21 children diagnosed with ...

The present study was undertaken to find a practical method for estimating the fetal shoulder width by ultrasound. Sixty pregnant women at term were included in the study. The distance between the lateral margin of the fetal cartilaginous caput humeri and the processus spinosus of the cervical vertebra C7 (humerospinous ...

The prime objective of this study was to assess the benefits and practicalities of an investigation protocol to identify, follow-up and investigate fetal uropathies in a manner to maximize efficiency. Over a one-year-period, antenatal ultrasound examinations were performed on 4268 consecutive pregnancies. Eighty fetuses had renal tract dilatation; these were ...

PURPOSE: To examine the changes in ciliary body thickness after topical application of pilocarpine, cyclopentolate hydrochloride, and PhXA41, a prostaglandin F2alpha analog. METHOD: We used high-frequency Humphrey UBM840 ultrasound biomicroscope to examine 36 healthy young Japanese subjects. RESULTS: The mean ciliary body thickness increased from 0.67 +/- 0.07 mm to ...

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the detection rate of abnormal findings, especially fetal anomalies, at second trimester ultrasound screening performed in a way representative of Swedish antenatal clinics. DESIGN: A prospective study carried out over two years in Uppsala county, Sweden, including 8,228 unselected pregnant women (8,345 fetuses). The ultrasound scans were ...

PURPOSE: There is still excessive debate as to the preferred diagnostic and therapeutic approach to urolithiasis in pregnancy. We report our experience with 15 pregnant patients with renoureteral colic marked by pain not responsive to analgesia, dilatation and fever. We focused on the usefulness of ureteroscopy with thin instruments and ...

We compared ultrasound findings and pre- and postnatal clinical signs in 8 patients with congenital chloride diarrhoea and 14 with small bowel atresia diagnosed in 1977-1991 in order to evaluate the possibility of a prenatal distinguishing diagnostic sign. In the patients with congenital chloride diarrhoea the pregnancy was complicated by ...

A wide spectrum of sonographic findings can be seen in the first trimester of pregnancy. One must have an appreciation of embryology to recognize normal and abnormal early pregnancy development. In this article we emphasize discriminatory criteria for identification of normal structures, as well as ultrasound findings in threatened abortion, ...

A review of first-trimester ultrasound findings is presented. The normal first trimester, including practical embryology and pregnancy dating, is first discussed. Abnormal first-trimester findings, including sonographic evaluation of the failing pregnancy, ectopic pregnancy, gestational trophoblastic disease, and first-trimester cystic hygroma, are then stressed. This report reviews the spectrum of findings ...

We evaluated the significance of severe oligohydramnios, or anhydramnios, in the second and third trimesters, by determining the range of etiologies as well as the differences in fetal and neonatal outcome. All prenatal ultrasound results on pregnancies found to have severe oligohydramnios over a 7.5-year period at 13-42 weeks' gestation ...

Fifty common marmoset pregnancies were monitored using ultrasound. The objective was to ascertain if fetal mortality was related to litter size. Prior to analysis we determined abortion rate and litter size were not influenced by repeated ultrasound. Mortality was unrelated to litter size and occurred fairly late in gestation. All ...

Two protocols were used for the ultrasonographic antenatal diagnosis of skeletal anomalies. The first was less selective and was used in pregnancies with a low risk of skeletal malformations. The second was applied to higher risk pregnancies. Both involved several ultrasound examinations, according to the patient's past medical history. In ...

Urolithiasis is one of the most common causes of pain in pregnancy. Renal calculi can create a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge; left untreated, they can adversely affect maternal and fetal outcome. Although most cases of obstructive uropathy can be managed conservatively, some require relief of obstruction, usually by placement of ...

Recent advances in ultrasound imaging have improved the assessment of early pregnancy development. The gestational sac can be detected within the uterine cavity as early as 4 weeks and 3 days after the last menstrual period. High resolution images of early embryos have enabled ultrasound studies of normal brain, abdominal ...

PURPOSE: Early and accurate diagnosis of placentation alerts the obstetrician to potential clinical sequelae. The reproductive endocrinologist has a unique opportunity to sonographically evaluate the very early intrauterine pregnancy. We undertook this study to determine whether chorionicity could accurately be predicted using early first-trimester transvaginal ultrasound. RESULTS: Of 47 sets ...

A statewide study to ascertain the number of ultrasound scans received by women in pregnancy, to identify the proportion having a scan at 16 to 20 weeks' gestation, and to establish where the scan at 16 to 20 weeks was performed was carried out between January, 1991 and June, 1992 ...

We have reviewed the epidemiological studies of human exposure to diagnostic ultrasound during pregnancy. Studies have concentrated on possible associations between ultrasound exposure in utero and childhood malignancies, neurological maldevelopment, dyslexia, left-handedness, delayed speech development and low birth weight. It is concluded that no associations between ultrasound exposure in utero ...

When an obstetrical patient was referred for inability to auscultate fetal heart tones at 18 weeks' gestation, ultrasound identified a single living fetus in the maternal right upper quadrant. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) ruled out a suspected uterine ectopic pregnancy and avoided laparotomy. The patient experienced an uncomplicated term delivery. ...

BACKGROUND: The aim was to construct a new symphysis-fundus (SF) height growth chart, based on ultrasound-dated singleton pregnancies. METHODS: We made a population-based study of all women, from the catchment areas of three district antenatal clinics, who registered for antenatal care during 1986. The growth of the SF height was ...

A detailed review of the literature reveals that routine obstetric ultrasound has value in providing more accurate gestational dating and in the diagnosis of fetal anomalies. The recent RADIUS study, which has concluded that routine obstetric ultrasound is of no clinical benefit, is critically analyzed, focusing on four areas: the ...