Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To assess the influence of additional diagnoses on neurodevelopmental outcomes of fetuses found to have callosal abnormalities after referral for ventriculomegaly (VM).

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

A prospective study of 430 fetuses referred for VM that were imaged with sonography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Fetuses with the diagnosis of corpus callosum abnormalities were included in this sub-analysis after recruitment into the main study. Between three to six radiologists independently recorded (CNS) abnormalities from ultrasound and MRI image review, with final diagnoses decided by consensus. Postnatal outcomes were compared between fetuses with callosal abnormalities with and without other abnormalities.

RESULTS:

Callosal abnormalities were detected in 13% (58/430) of fetuses referred with VM. Callosal dysgenesis was isolated in 24% (14/58) of cases with the remainder complicated by CNS, karyotypic or other major abnormalities. Five fetuses diagnosed as having isolated callosal abnormalities had additional CNS findings on postnatal assessment. Pre-conference kappa for callosal abnormalities was 0.76 for US and 0.78 for MR indicating that both of these investigations have a similar level of operator dependence. Neurodevelopmental outcome was normal or showed only mild delays that resolved in 67% (8/12) children with isolated callosal abnormalities compared to 7% (2/27) in those with non-isolated callosal abnormalities (p=0/003).

CONCLUSION:

Callosal abnormalities are present in a significant proportion of fetuses with a diagnosis of ventriculomegaly. Isolated callosal abnormalities are associated with normal neurodevelopmental outcome in approximately two-thirds of fetuses. Disagreement in diagnosis of callosal abnormalities is similarly likely with US as for MRI evaluation. Copyright © 2012 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Copyright © 2012 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.