Lateral ventricular volume measurement by 3D MR hydrography in fetal ventriculomegaly and normal lateral ventricles.

BackgroundIn fetuses with prenatal ventriculomegaly (VM), ventricular volume on MRI has been shown to correlate with poor postnatal outcomes and in utero death. 3D magnetic resonance hydrography (MRH) has been widely used for MR cholangiopancreatography. PurposeTo investigate the reliability of 3D MRH for lateral ventricular volume measurement in fetuses with VM and normal lateral ventricles, using manual multisection planimetry (MSP) as a reference standard. Study TypeProspective study. PopulationThirty-five fetuses with VM at 24-37 gestational weeks (GA) and 35 fetuses with normal lateral ventricles at 24-38 GA. Field Strength/Sequence1.5T MRI with 3D MRH and T-2-weighted single-shot fast-spin echo sequence. AssessmentLeft, right, and total lateral ventricle volumes in fetuses were acquired from 3D MRH and manual MSP. All image analysis was performed by a radiologist twice and another radiologist once, blindly. Statistical TestsAnalysis of linear regression analysis, Pearson's correlation coefficient, Bland-Altman plots, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and independent samples t-test were used for statistical analyses. ResultsThere were highly significant relationships between all 3D MRH and manual MSP measurements of lateral ventricular volumes (r(VM)=0.92-0.98; r(N)=0.95-0.98; all P<0.0001; VM: VM group, N: normal group), although left, right, and total lateral ventricular volumes measured by 3D MRH tended to be slightly larger than MSP (bias(VM) 0.10.95, 0.260.63, and 0.30.68mL, respectively; bias(N) 0.10.95, 0.26 +/- 0.63, and 0.3 +/- 0.68mL, respectively). Interrater agreement and intrarater repeatability were also excellent for 3D MRH (ICCVM=0.994-0.99, ICCN=0.989-0.992; ICCVM=0.975-0.987, ICCN=0.958-0.971, respectively). 3D MRH showed significantly reduced measurement time (VM: 3.55 +/- 0.42 vs. 11.81 +/- 0.13min; N: 3.08 +/- 0.39 vs. 12.12 +/- 0.11min; all P<0.0001). Data ConclusionLateral ventricular volume measurement by 3D MRH was comparable to manual MSP. Level of Evidence: 1 Technical Efficacy Stage 1 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2017.