Fetal Interventricular Septum Volume Evaluated by Three-Dimensional Ultrasound Using Spatiotemporal Image Correlation and Virtual Organ Computer-Aided Analysis in Fetuses From Pre-Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Pregnant Women

• Published in: Journal of cardiovascular imaging Vol. 30; no. 2; pp. 125 - 134
• Main Authors: Bravo-Valenzuela, Nathalie Jeanne, Peixoto, Alberto Borges, Mattar, Rosiane, Araujo Júnior, Edward
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Korea (South) Korean Society of Echocardiography 01.04.2022; 한국심초음파학회
• Subjects: Original; 내과학; Heart; Fetus; Three-dimensional image; Diabetes mellitus; Cardiac septum
• ISSN: 2586-7210; 2586-7296
• DOI: 10.4250/jcvi.2021.0170

To assess the interventricular septum (IVS) volume of fetuses from pre-gestational diabetes mellitus (DM) pregnant women by 3-dimensional ultrasound using spatiotemporal image correlation (STIC) and virtual organ computer-aided analysis (VOCAL) methods. This was a prospective cross-sectional study of 45 fetuses from pre-gestational DM and 45 fetuses from healthy pregnant women (controls). Only singleton pregnancies between 20 and 34 + 6 weeks of gestation were included. The fetal IVS volumes were obtained off-line using STIC and VOCAL methods. To analyze differences among variables, the Student's t-test and Mann-Whitney U test were used. The correlation among continuous variables was determine using Spearman's correlation test (r). The median of fetal IVS volume was significantly higher in pre-gestational DM than in healthy pregnant women (0.3 cm vs. 0.2 cm , p = 0.032). A strong positive correlation was observed between fetal IVS volume and gestational age at the time of ultrasound examination (r = 0.75, R² = 0.48, p < 0.0001) and between fetal IVS volume and estimated fetal weight (r = 0.63, R² = 0.37, p < 0.0001). No significant correlation was noted between fetal IVS volume and glycated hemoglobin levels (r = -0.16, R² = 0.01, p = 0.540) in the pre-gestational DM pregnant women. Significant differences were observed in fetal IVS volumes between pre-gestational and healthy mothers, with higher values in the fetuses of pre-gestational DM pregnant women.