Is pulsation of the fetal splenic vein a potential ultrasound marker of histological chorioamnionitis and funisitis in women with preterm prelabor rupture of membranes?
Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica, 07/27/2012
Clinical Article
MUSILOVA I et al .–This study aims to determine whether the presence of histological chorioamnionitis and funisitis is associated with a continuous or pulsatile flow pattern in fetal splenic vein.The fetal spleen is involved in the response to intrauterine infection and inflammation. The flow pattern of its vein is not pulsatile under normal conditions. The study found a relation between pulsation in the splenic vein and histological chorioamnionitis (likelihood ratio 13.2) as well as funisitis (likelihood ratio 5.7). Ultrasound evaluation of the splenic vein could be a non–invasive tool for the prediction of these inflammatory complications.
