Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-27-2024
Abstract
Objectives: Increased fetal lung heterogeneity has been associated with term fetal lungs in singleton gestations. The objective of this study was to determine if fetal lung heterogeneity index (HI) differs between twin and singleton fetuses in the late second and third trimesters. Methods: Prospective cohort study of women with singleton and twin gestations with medically-indicated ultrasound examinations at 24 weeks of gestation onward. Grayscale transverse fetal lung images were obtained at the level of the four-chamber heart. A region of interest was selected in each fetal lung image. Fetal lung HI was determined with MATLAB software using a dithering technique with ultrasound image pixels transformed into a binary map form from which a dynamic range value was determined. HI averages and standard deviations were generated for twin and singleton fetuses from 24 weeks gestation onward. Two sample t-tests were used to compare the mean HI at each gestational week between singleton and twin fetuses. Results: In total, 388 singleton and 478 twin images were analyzed. From 35 through 38 weeks of gestation a statistically significant divergence in mean HI was observed with higher means in singleton compared to twin fetuses. At 24 weeks of gestation there was a significantly higher HI in twin fetuses compared to singletons. No differences in fetal lung HI were observed between 25 and 34 weeks gestational age. Conclusions: Differences in fetal lung HI were observed when comparing twin and singleton fetuses. Further investigation is required to determine the potential clinical significance of these findings.
Recommended Citation
Keller, Nathan A.; Bracero, Luis A.; Karras, Christina; Kouba, Insaf; Jackson, Frank Ian; Blitz, Matthew J.; and Ghorayeb, Sleiman R., "Comparative Analysis Of Ultrasonographic Fetal Lung Texture In Twin And Singleton Fetuses" (2024). Specialty Medicine Faculty Publications. 3.
https://dune.une.edu/specmed_facpubs/3
Comments
© 2024 The Author(s). This is an article published by DeGruyter under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution BY Attribution 4.0 International License. (International https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Article published originally: Keller NA, Bracero LA, Karras C, et al. Comparative analysis of ultrasonographic fetal lung texture in twin and singleton fetuses. J Perinat Med. 2024;52(6):633-637. Published 2024 May 27. doi:10.1515/jpm-2024-0144
Author Jackson is a UNECOM 2019 graduate and a UNECOM Affiliate Clinical Professor.