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. 2020 Nov 12;10(1):19685.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-76753-4.

Relationship between cervical elastography and spontaneous onset of labor

Yoshie Yo  1 , Yasushi Kotani  2 , Reona Shiro  1 , Kiko Yamamoto  1 , Risa Fujishima  1 , Hisamitsu Takaya  1 , Ayako Suzuki  1 , Masao Shimaoka  1 , Noriomi Matsumura  1
Affiliations

Relationship between cervical elastography and spontaneous onset of labor

Yoshie Yo et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Cervical elastography might be an objective method for evaluating cervical ripening during pregnancy, but its usefulness has not been fully investigated. We examined the significance of cervical elastography in the last trimester of pregnancy. Cervical elastography was performed at weekly checkups after 36 weeks of gestation in 238 cases delivered at our hospital from 2017 to 2018. The correlation with the onset time of natural labor, which is an index for judging maternal delivery preparation status, was examined. A total of 765 examinations were conducted, and cervical stiffness determined by cervical elastography was positively correlated with the Bishop score (r = 0.46, p < 0.0001). When examined separately for each week, only the examinations performed at 39 weeks were associated with the onset of spontaneous labor up to 7 days later (p = 0.0004). Furthermore, when stratified and analyzed by the Bishop score at 39 weeks of gestation, cervical elastography was associated with the occurrence of spontaneous labor pain for up to seven days in the groups with Bishop scores of 3-5 and 6-8 (p = 0.0007 and p = 0.03, respectively). In conclusion, cervical elastography at 39 weeks of pregnancy is useful for judging the delivery time.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Representative images of cervical elastography (VOLUSONS6) in multiple pregnant women. The inner uterine ostium of the cervix (area surrounded by a purple square) was evaluated. (A) Green, hard tissue; (B) yellow, medium-hard tissue; (C) red, soft tissue.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Association between the Bishop score and incidence of spontaneous labor onset within 7 days after the exam. Palatal axis; cumulative spontaneous labor onset rate. Horizontal axis: days since inspection; wks, weeks of gestation.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Association between cervical elastography and the incidence of spontaneous labor within 7 days after the exam. Palatal axis; cumulative spontaneous labor onset rate. Horizontal axis: days since the inspection.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Association between cervical elastography at 39 weeks of gestation and the incidence of spontaneous labor within 7 days after the exam. (A) primipara (PP), (B) multipara (MP). Palatal axis; cumulative spontaneous labor onset rate. Horizontal axis: days since the inspection.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Association between cervical elastography at 39 weeks of gestation and the incidence of spontaneous labor within 7 days after the exam. (A) Bishop score 0–2, (B) Bishop score 3–5, (C) Bishop score 6–8. Palatal axis; cumulative spontaneous labor onset rate. Horizontal axis: days since the inspection.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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