EP04.11: M‐mode vs 2D echocardiography for measuring of fetal myocardial wall thickness

Abstract

M-mode and 2D modalities are both used for measuring fetal myocardial wall thicknesses. However, studies comparing the performance of both modalities are lacking. We aimed to compare the reproducibility of 2D vs M-mode for measuring myocardial wall thicknesses. A prospective study including 45 healthy fetuses from low-risk pregnancies evaluated between 18 and 41 weeks of gestation. Left and right ventricular free-wall and septal myocardial thicknesses were measured at end-diastole (d) and end-systole (s) in a transverse 4-chamber view using 2D and M-mode. All measurements were performed twice, below the level of the atrioventricular valves for three times by an experienced observer, and the mean was considered as a representative final value in each case. Intraobserver repeatability was evaluated by the concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) and both techniques were compared by t-test of the CCC. Both 2D and M-mode showed a good intraobserver reproducibility for assessing myocardial wall thicknesses (table 1). Both techniques were highly correlated, with a significant better performance of M-mode in the assessment of the interventricular septum. Both 2D and M-mode can be used in a reproducible manner, with a slightly better performance of M-mode for assessing septal thickness. EP04.11: Table 1. Intraobserver repeatability of fetal cardiac walls thicknesses