The reliability of fetal MRI in the assessment of brain malformations

To assess the inter- and intraobserver reliability of different fetal MRI measurements in cases of fetal brain malformations and to examine the concordance between ultrasonography (US) and MRI findings.

Fetal brain MRIs and US findings of 56 pregnant women were retrieved from the institutional database. Standardized fetal brain MRI measurements were performed by 4 observers, and the inter- and intraobserver reliability was determined. Additionally, US and MRI findings were retrospectively compared.

The interobserver intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was above 0.9 for the cerebellum and posterior horn of the lateral ventricle. The measurements regarding the third ventricle (0.50), the fourth ventricle (0.58), and the corpus callosum (0.63) showed poor reliability. Overall, the intraobserver reliability was greater than the interobserver reliability. US and MRI findings were discordant in 29% of the cases with MRI rendering an extended diagnosis in 18%, a change of diagnosis in 3.6%, and excluding pathological findings suspected on US in 7.1%.

Fetal MRI is a valuable complement to US in the investigation of fetal brain malformations. The reliability of most parameters was high, except for the measurements of the third and fourth ventricles and the corpus callosum.