Work

Reference ranges for the fetal cerebral lateral ventricular width (LVW) in a population from southern Chinese and the association of various LVW centile thresholds with adverse perinatal outcomes

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: The study aimed to (1) establish reference ranges for fetal cerebral lateral ventricular width (LVW) in a southern Chinese population and (2) evaluate the associations between different LVW centile thresholds and adverse perinatal outcomes. METHODS: This retrospective cross-sectional study analyzed routine fetal ultrasound data from pregnant women who received antenatal care and delivered at a tertiary maternity hospital in China. Generalized additive models for location, scale, and shape (GAMLSS) were applied to construct the growth curves for the LVW measurements. The association between out-of-range LVW values and adverse perinatal outcomes was assessed. The exposures of interests were LVW < 3rd centile, LVW between the 97th centile and 10 mm, and LVW > 10 mm. The reference group was composed of fetuses with an LVW between the 3rd and <97th centile. Analysis was performed using multivariate logistic regression. The evaluated adverse perinatal outcomes included a composite outcome of congenital anomalies (CAs), low birth weight (LBW), small for gestational age (SGA) at birth, and preterm birth (PTB). RESULTS: To construct the LVW reference curves, 38,388 pregnant women with reliable gestational age were analyzed. The smoothed 1st to 99th centile curves for LVW across gestational ages are presented. Compared with the reference group (LVW between the 3rd and <97th centiles), fetus with LVW < 3rd centile had a significantly lower risk of CAs (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 0.77, 95% CI: 0.61-0.97). In contrast, those with LVW between the 97th centile and 10 mm showed an increased risk of nervous system anomalies (aOR = 2.67, 95%CI: 1.23-5.80), but a decreased risk of LBW (aOR = 0.65, 95% CI: 0.51-0.82) and SGA (aOR = 0.54, 95% CI: 0.46-0.64). CONCLUSIONS: We established novel gestational age-specific reference values for LVW in a Chinese population using the GAMLSS approach. Reduced LVW was associated with a lower risk of congenital anomalies, whereas a modest increase in LVW was linked to elevated risk. These findings may enhance antenatal counseling and clinical decision-making in cases where LVW measurements fall outside the normal centile range.

Source: The Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine

DOI: 10.1080/14767058.2025.2561838