1.5T magnetic resonance imaging in evaluating fetal head and abdomen malformations: a preliminary study

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is increasingly used in the diagnosis of fetal malformations. The purpose of this study was to determine the diagnostic value of 1.5T MRI in fetal head and abdominal malformations.

A total of 132 pregnant women admitted to Shijiazhuang NO.4 Hospital were included and divided into a control group (CG; n=63) and a research group (RG; n=69) according to different prenatal examination methods. Patients in CG were given ultrasound, while those in RG underwent 1.5T MRI examination. The image quality of 1.5T MRI in different amniotic fluid, different gestational weeks with normal amniotic fluid and different fetal positions with normal amniotic fluid were compared. The detection rate and diagnostic value of the two methods were also compared, with the histological and pathological results as the gold standard.

The image quality of 1.5T MRI was not affected by different gestational age with normal amniotic fluid, different fetal positions with normal amniotic fluid, or different amniotic fluid, indicating the feasibility of 1.5T MRI in fetal malformation examination. Histopathological diagnosis revealed 39 cases of head and abdominal deformities in CG and 50 cases in RG. Based on the results of ultrasound examination, there were 32 cases of deformities and 31 of non-deformities in CG. In RG, 1.5T MRI revealed 48 malformations and 21 non-malformations. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, missed diagnosis and misdiagnosis rates were 82.05%, 75.00%, 79.37%, 17.95% and 25.00% respectively in CG where ultrasonography was performed, and were 96.00%, 94.74%, 95.65%, 4.00% and 5.26% respectively in RG where 1.5T MRI was performed. The data identified significant differences in sensitivity, accuracy and missed diagnosis between RG and CG.

1.5T MRI is effective in diagnosing fetal head and abdominal malformations.