Postconceptual Neonatal Dating by Transmastoid Ultrasound of Transcerebellar Diameter-Comparison to Crown Rump Length Measurement: A Proof of Concept Paper.

OBJECTIVES

Transcerebellar diameter (TCD) has been utilized prenatally as a tool to estimate gestational age (GA) when fetal growth aberrations are suspected. Traditionally, first trimester ultrasound (1TUS) has been the gold standard of dating a pregnancy in spontaneous pregnancies. We sought to determine if neonatal TCD measurement was as accurate as 1TUS in the estimation of postconceptual gestational age (PCGA).

METHODS

A retrospective cohort from a registry of high-quality transmastoid views of consecutive patients from July 2019 to November 2020, delivered from 24 to 34 weeks GA, and with a 1TUS were included. The reference PCGA was the sum of the GA at delivery by 1TUS and day of life. The PCGA by TCD was calculated from Chang et al for GA by TCD. Reference and experimental values were compared by correlation, agreement within 7 days, and Bland-Altman analysis.

RESULTS

Of the 154 individual patients in the registry of high-quality transmastoid views during the study period, 62 met inclusion and exclusion criteria. PCGA by 1TUS and TCD were highly correlated (r = 0.86, P < .001; κ = 47% agreement within 7 days of PCGA). The bias of PCGA by TCD was 4.6 days earlier than the PCGA by 1TUS (95% confidence interval of agreement: -29.2, 20).

CONCLUSIONS

PCGA estimation by neonatal transmastoid TCD was highly correlated with that of 1TUS. It generally underestimates GA by 4.6 days. This relationship warrants further investigation to determine if this method of estimating PCGA in undated gestations is generalizable.