Abstract
García-Mejido J, García-Jimenez R, Fernández-Conde C, et al. J Ultrasound Med. Epub ahead of print 29 January 2024. DOI: 10.1002/jum.16422.
Elastography was used to measure the elasticity of the levator ani muscle and the vaginal walls, of 30 patients that had a prolapse with the results compared to a control group (no prolapse) of 30 patients. Clear diagrams, ultrasound images and descriptions are provided, so that the research could be repeated in any department. The results showed that patients with a prolapse had greater elasticity than those without. A limitation of the study is the type of prolapse observed, as these were mainly anterior vaginal wall prolapse and rectoceles.
Kalil A, Sotiriadis A, D’Antonio F, et al. Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol 2024; 63: 131–147.
Practice guidelines to help with the obstetric department protocols. Looking at the third trimester ultrasound scan, there are indications for the scan, anomalies that may be found and recommendations of what should be assessed.
Patel R, Shames A and Sarkodieh J. Clin Radiol 2024; 79: 255–262. DOI: 10.1016/j.crad.2023.12.026.
Analysis of 188 ultrasound scans of lumps performed in children (under 16 years old) between 2016-2022 at one center, led to follow up of 89 cases out of 103 and gave a resulting list of the ten most common benign diagnoses. A pictorial review of these 10 pathologies is given, with description, incidence, and ultrasound appearances.
Landolfo C, Ceusters J, Valentin L, et al. Br J Cancer. Epub ahead of print 19 January 2024. DOI: 10.1038/s41416-024-02578-x.
This research compared the use of ADNEX (Assessment of Different NEoplasias in the adnexa) which was invented by the IOTA group and looks at both clinical and ultrasound markers to assess an ovarian mass, with ROMA (Risk of Malignancy algorithm). ROMA uses the blood test result of CA125 and HE4 with whether the patient is menopausal to give a risk factor. The data were taken from the trans-IOTA research retrospectively. All patients had surgery, so the final histology was available in each case. ADNEX was superior to ROMA in accuracy in distinguishing between benign and malignant masses.
Wang P, Wang Y and Zhang Y. Am J Obstet Gynecol. Epub ahead of print 16 February 2024. DOI: 10.1016/j.ajog.2024.02.009.
A case referred to a tertiary center because of suspected dextrocardia, where the diagnosis of agenesis of the right lung was made. There are clear ultrasound images of the obtained fetal heart views, with images from a postmortem MRI confirming the diagnosis.
Hessami K, Horgan R, Munoz JL, et al. Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol. Epub ahead of print 7 February 2024. DOI: 10.1002/uog.27606.
In this meta-analysis, 37 studies were included which involved 5746 pregnancies at high risk of placenta accreta, past history of a caesarian section or uterine surgery, placenta praevia or a low-lying placenta in the current pregnancy. The resulting analysis showed that early detection of placenta accreta in at risk patients is possible in the first trimester (sensitivity 86% and specificity 63%), with the ultrasound appearance of lower uterine hypervascularity giving the best sensitivity.
Meshaka R, Leung G, Easty M, et al. Clin Radiol 2024; 79(2): 150–159.
An “ultrasound first” regime was introduced in late 2021 to investigate suspected cases of malrotation or volvulus. The ultrasound practitioner, alongside looking for a volvulus, the orientation of the SMV (superior mesenteric vein) to the SMA (superior mesenteric artery) and that the third part of the duodenum (D3) lies retroperitoneally, performed a full abdominal ultrasound to rule out other pathology. When ultrasound was indeterminate, an UGI was performed. The results obtained show that introducing ultrasound first had been successful and over time the ultrasound practitioners’ skills improved.
Cockrum RH, Tu FF, Kierzkowska O, et al. Am J Obstet Gynaecol. Epub ahead of print 29 January 2024. DOI: 10.1016/j.ajog.2024.01.018.
The MRI part used functional MRI (fMRI) to look at the pattern of perfusion throughout the uterus. Participants were those who experienced dysmenorrhea (38) with a control group of pain-free participants (13). All were scanned in the first 48 hours of starting their period and in the luteal phase for another scan. With the ultrasound part, a transabdominal scan to assess the Doppler blood flow in the uterine artery was used. In addition, the participants squeezed a pressure bulb when they felt pain. No pain killers were to be taken before taking part in either the fMRI or the ultrasound. In both the MRI and Doppler findings, there was increased uterine velocity in participants with dysmenorrhea, which is the opposite of previous research which has identified ischemia as a reason for dysmenorrhea.
Shi J, Chang Q, Ma M, et al. Eur J Radiol. Epub ahead of print 16 December 2023. DOI: 10.1016/j.ejrad.2023.111273.
When performing a musculoskeletal ultrasound, an advantage is being able to stress the joint during the scan. This research found that in cases of chronic ankle instability (CAI), the talofibular space was increased and the difference in the talofibular space between neutral and stressed positions was most significant.
Weissbach T, Lev S, Haimov A, et al. Am J Obstetr Gynecol. Epub ahead of print 21 September 2023. DOI: 10.1016/j.ajog.2023.09.014.
Some good ultrasound images and diagrams to explain the hard palate sweep using 2D ultrasound. It does depend on the fetus lying supine and extending its head to achieve this view.