Second-trimester transvaginal ultrasound measurement of cervical length for prediction of preterm birth: a blinded prospective multicentre diagnostic accuracy study.

OBJECTIVE

To estimate the diagnostic performance of sonographic cervical length for the prediction of preterm birth (PTB).

DESIGN

Prospective observational multicentre study.

SETTING

Seven Swedish ultrasound centres.

SAMPLE: A cohort of 11 456 asymptomatic women with a singleton pregnancy.

METHODS

Cervical length was measured with transvaginal ultrasound at 18-20 weeks of gestation (C×1) and at 21-23 weeks of gestation (C×2, optional). Staff and participants were blinded to results.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values (PPV and NPV), positive and negative likelihood ratios (LR+ and LR-), number of false-positive results per true-positive result (FP/TP), number needed to screen to detect one PTB (NNS) and prevalence of 'short' cervix.

RESULTS

Spontaneous PTB (sPTB) at <33 weeks of gestation occurred in 56/11 072 (0.5%) women in the C×1 population (89% white) and in 26/6288 (0.4%) in the C×2 population (92% white). The discriminative ability of shortest endocervical length was better the earlier the sPTB occurred and was better at C×2 than at C×1 (AUC to predict sPTB at <33 weeks of gestation 0.76 versus 0.65, difference in AUC 0.11, 95% CI 0.01-0.23). At C×2, the shortest endocervical length of ≤25 mm (prevalence 4.4%) predicted sPTB at <33 weeks of gestation with sensitivity 38.5% (10/26), specificity 95.8% (5998/6262), PPV 3.6% (10/274), NPV 99.7% (5988/6014), LR+ 9.1, LR- 0.64, FP/TP 26 and NNS 629.

CONCLUSIONS

Second-trimester sonographic cervical length can identify women at high risk of sPTB. In a population of mainly white women with a low prevalence of sPTB its diagnostic performance is at best moderate.

TWEETABLE ABSTRACT: Cervical length screening to predict preterm birth in a white low-risk population has moderate performance.