DETECTION OF CHANGES IN CERVICAL SOFTNESS USING SHEAR WAVE SPEED IN EARLY VERSUS LATE PREGNANCY: AN &ITIN VIVO&IT CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

The aim of this study was to assess the ability of shear wave elasticity imaging (SWEI) to detect changes in cervical softness between early and late pregnancy. Using a cross-sectional study design, shear wave speed (SWS) measurements were obtained from women in the first trimester (5-14 wk of gestation) and compared with estimates from a previous study of women at term (37-41 wk). Two sets of five SWS measurements were made using commercial SWEI applications on an ultrasound system equipped with a prototype catheter transducer (128 elements, 3-mm diameter, 14-mm aperture). Average SWS estimates were 4.42 +/- 0.32 m/s (n = 12) for the first trimester and 2.13 +/- 0.66 m/s (n = 18) for the third trimester (p < 0.0001). The area under the curve was 0.95 (95% confidence interval: 0.82-0.99) with a sensitivity and specificity of 83%. SWS estimates indicated that the third-trimester cervix is significantly softer than the first-trimester cervix. SWEI methods may be promising for assessing changes in cervical softness. (C) 2018 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology. All rights reserved.