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True knot of the umbilical cord: a difficult prenatal ultrasonographic diagnosis
Author(s) -
Sepulveda W.,
Shennan A. H.,
Bower S.,
Nicolaidis P.,
Fisk N. M.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
ultrasound in obstetrics and gynecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.202
H-Index - 141
eISSN - 1469-0705
pISSN - 0960-7692
DOI - 10.1046/j.1469-0705.1995.05020106.x
Subject(s) - medicine , umbilical cord , cord , ultrasonography , ultrasound , in utero , abnormality , single umbilical artery , obstetrics , knot (papermaking) , fetus , pregnancy , radiology , surgery , anatomy , genetics , chemical engineering , psychiatry , biology , engineering
We examined retrospectively the use of ultrasonography in 18 cases in which a true knot of the umbilical cord was found at delivery. All women had a normal second trimester scan in which no cord abnormality was detected. Thirteen (72%) also had third‐trimester color Doppler ultrasonography, at which time the cord anomaly was again missed. In one of these cases the diagnosis could have been made with color flow imaging, but the abnormal pattern was mistaken instead for multiple loops of cord. On the other hand, the diagnosis of true knot was considered prenatally in two cases, but not confirmed at delivery, when only a prominent false knot was found in one and a normal cord in the other. We conclude that true knots of the umbilical cord do not have a characteristic appearance in utero and therefore are easily missed at routine prenatal ultrasonography. Copyright © 1995 International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology