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Updated: Jun 1, 2026
A Novel Use of Three-dimensional High-frequency Ultrasonography for Early Pregnancy Characterization in the Mouse
Published on: October 24, 2017
Agreement between two- and three-dimensional transperineal ultrasound methods in assessing fetal head descent in the
E A Torkildsen1, K Å Salvesen, T M Eggebø
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Stavanger University Hospital, Stavanger, Norway. eatorkildsen@hotmail.com
Objective:
To study intraobserver repeatability and intermethod agreement between two- (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) transperineal ultrasound methods in assessing fetal head descent during the first stage of labor.
Methods:
Fetal head descent was measured with transperineal ultrasound as the fetal head-perineum distance and the angle of progression in 106 primiparous women with prolonged first stage of labor. A single obstetrician performed all the scans, and another obstetrician analyzed the acquired 2D images and 3D volumes, blinded to clinical assessments and labor outcome. Intraobserver repeatability and intermethod agreement between 2D and 3D methods were analyzed.
Results:
The repeatability coefficient was ± 4.1 mm in 2D acquisitions and ± 1.7 mm in 3D acquisitions of fetal head-perineum distance. The intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were 0.94 for 2D and 0.99 for 3D measurements. The angle of progression repeatability coefficients were ± 6.7° using 2D and ± 5.7° using 3D ultrasound and ICCs were 0.91 and 0.94, respectively. The intermethod ICC for fetal head-perineum distance in 2D vs 3D acquisitions was 0.95 and for angle of progression it was 0.93; the intermethod 95% limits of agreement were - 5.8 mm to + 7.2 mm and - 8.9° to + 13.7°, respectively. Cohen's kappa for 2D vs 3D acquisitions was 0.85 using 40 mm as a cut-off level for fetal head-perineum distance and 0.79 using 110° as cut-off level for angle of progression.
Conclusions:
For one ultrasound operator the intraobserver repeatability and agreement between 2D and 3D ultrasound methods in prolonged first stage of labor were good. Given that 2D methods are simpler to learn and can be analyzed quickly online, 2D equipment might therefore be preferred in the labor room.
