EARLY FIRST-TRIMESTER ULTRASOUND PROVIDES A WINDOW THROUGH WHICH THE CHORIONICITY OF TWINS CAN BE DIAGNOSED IN AN IN-VITRO FERTILIZATION (IVF) POPULATION
Ab. Copperman et al., EARLY FIRST-TRIMESTER ULTRASOUND PROVIDES A WINDOW THROUGH WHICH THE CHORIONICITY OF TWINS CAN BE DIAGNOSED IN AN IN-VITRO FERTILIZATION (IVF) POPULATION, Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics, 12(10), 1995, pp. 693-697
Purpose: Early and accurate diagnosis of placentation alerts the obste
trician to potential clinical sequelae. The reproductive endocrinologi
st has a unique opportunity to sonographically evaluate the very early
intrauterine pregnancy. nancy. We undertook this study to determine w
hether chorionicity could accurately be predicted using early first-tr
imester transvaginal ultrasound. Results: Of 47 sets of twins conceive
d through our IVF-ET program, all underwent detailed transvaginal sono
graphy. These findings were then compared with results of placental pa
thology examination, after birth. Transvaginal sonography was performe
d 41 days following embryo transfer. All 3 monochorionic placentas wer
e correctly predicted by ultrasound, while the remaining 44 placentas
were dichorionic. Conclusions: The significance of our findings lies b
oth in our 100% accuracy in diagnosis and in the extremely early gesta
tional age at which we were able to establish correctly the diagnosis
of chorionicity. The errors in diagnosis made by previous investigator
s were often the result of not recognizing single placentae which were
later. histologically shown to be the result of placental fusion. The
infertility specialist has a unique window of opportunity to evaluate
placentation and should provide useful information regarding chorioni
city to the obstetrical team.