Fetal Nasal Bone Length as a Novel Marker for Prediction of Adverse Perinatal Outcomes in the First-Trimester of Pregnancy

Abstract

Background: Adverse outcomes of pregnancy are achallenging health-care problem. Prediction of adversepregnancy outcomes is important to prevent themorbidities of the foetus and the mother.Aims: To study the clinical interest of fetal nasal bonelength in predicting adverse pregnancy outcomes in thefirst trimester of pregnancy.Study Design: A population-based retrospective cohortstudy.Methods: Data from 868 women with first-trimesterfetal nasal bone length and birth records availablewere enrolled. Fetal nasal bone length percentiles weredetermined and evaluated for their ability to predictadverse pregnancy outcomes such as preterm birth,preterm labour, preterm premature rupture of membranes,early preterm birth, gestational diabetes mellitus,gestational hypertension-preeclampsia, small-forgestationalage foetuses, macrosomia, oligohydramnios,polyhydramnios and fetal distress.Results: Fetal nasal bone length >95th percentile wassignificantly associated with preterm labor and pretermpremature rupture of membranes (p=0.02, accuracy 0.91and p=0.001, accuracy 0.94, respectively), whereas nasalbone length >99th percentile was significantly associatedwith preterm labor and oligohydramnios (p=0.006,accuracy 0.95 and p=0.014, accuracy 0.97).Conclusion: Fetal nasal bone length at high percentiles inthe first trimester of pregnancy may aid in the predictionof adverse outcomes such as preterm labour, pretermpremature rupture of membranes and oligohydramnios.