Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the Diagnosis of Fetal Pathology

Fetal Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is an imaging method for displaying anatomical structures of the fetus without ionizing radiation and it has been in use since the MRI has been used for the analysis of the adult human body.

The aim of our paper is the two-year retrospective analysis of fetal MRI examinations for the purpose of presenting various pathological conditions of the fetuses.

A total of 59 fetal MRI examinations were performed on pregnant women in the time period 2016 to 2018 at the Radiology Clinic at Sarajevo University Clinical Center, on Siemens and Toshiba 1.5 Tesla scanners. All cases were referred by gynecologists who suspected a fetal pathology. The comparison of the fetal age at which the congenital anomalies are usually detected is performed using the univariate analysis of variance and the Student t test, at the 95% level of confidence.

Of the total of 59 fetal MRI examinations, 2 fetuses (3,4%) were healthy, while pathology of the head and CNS was found in 26 fetuses (44,2%), thoracic cavity pathology in 5 fetuses (8,5%), abdominal cavity pathology in 18 fetuses (30,6%), pathology of extremities in 2 fetuses (3,4%), spinal cord pathology in one fetus (1,7%), and in 3 fetuses associated anomalies were found (5,1%). The pathology of the uterus and placenta was found in two pregnant women (3,4%).

Prenatal MRI provides extremely useful information in cases where the ultrasound examination of the fetus is insufficient due to the size and position of the fetus. MRI is a key tool in deciding whether to continue or stop the further development of the fetus.