| ObjectivesThis study aim to evaluate the concordance of two-dimensional echocardiography (2DE) and Intelligent Spatiotemporal Image Correlation (iSTIC) echocardiography in measuring the fetal aortic and aortic arch diameters during the second and third trimesters.MethodsData were collected by a prospective cross-sectional study of140singleton normal fetuses with the gestational age from22to32weeks. A total of6dimensions of the fetal. aortic and aortic arch, including aortic annular diameter (AO), ascending aorta diameter (AAO), aortic arch diameter [AO Arch (IN A to LCCA)], aortic arch diameter [AO Arch LCCA to LSA)], aortic isthmus diameter and descending aorta diameter (DAO), were measured by two different methods. Concordance was assessed by comparing the measurements acquired by iSTIC with those determined by2DE and depicted by Bland-Altman plots. Inter-and intra-observer variability was elevated by the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) test.ResultsA total of137iSTIC volumes in140cases were found to be suitable for further analysis. Good correlation was observed in the measurements that determined by2DE or iSTIC (Pearson’s R2=0.977-0.983). There is no significant difference of the mean values in all the parameters that measured by these two methods. Bland-Altman plot showed that the95%limits of agreement (LOA) in AO, AAO, AO Arch (INA to LCCA), AO Arch (LCCA to LSA), aortic isthmus diameter and DAO were (-0.1260/+0.2299),(-0.1707/+0.2241),(-0.1547/+0.2190),(-0.1736/+0.2024),(-0.1514/+0.2039) and (-0.1485/+0.2228), respectively. The points in the outside of LOA were5.11%(7/137),4.38%(6/137),5.11%(7/137),5.84%(8/137),4.38%(6/137) and4.38%(6/137), respectively. The inter-observer and intra-observer variation of these were (0.979-0.994) and (0.983-0.990).ConclusioniSTIC is in good agreement with2DE in measuring the fetal aortic and aortic arch diameters during the second and third trimesters... |
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