1st trimester Flashcards
some causes of uncertain LMP? (5)
- poor menstrual history
- amernorrhea
- prolonged or short cycle- not every 28 days
- DUB (dysfunctional uterine bleeding)
- recent miscarriage
Before the advent of pregnancy testing and sonography, what was the most identifiable reference point for the beginning of the pregnancy?
LMP
How many days is pregnancy?
- calendar
- lunar months
280 days from the first day of the LMP
- 9 calendar
- 10 lunar months
what is Nägele’s rule also known as?
- in clinical practice, the term gestational age is used interchangeably with menstrual age
why is the knowledge of an accurate gestational age needed?
to manage the pregnancy optimally
what are the two 1st trimester measurements? (4)
biometry:
- gestational sac (mean sac diameter)
- crown-rump length
additional measurements:
- yolk sac
- nuchal translucency
what is a normal yolk sac measurement?
2-6mm
what is the normal nuchal transluceny measurement?
<3.5mm between 11 and 14 weeks
what is the 1st sonographic evidence pf an intrauterine pregnancy?
gestational sac
gestational sac on u/s?
- anachoic fluid collection surrounded by an ecogenic ring in the fundal region of the endometrial cavity
what is the echogenic ring in the gestational sac representitive of?
- chorion and decidua capsularis
Absence of the echogenic ring should prompt what?
- suspicion of a pseudogestational sac associated with ectopic pregnancy
- this may warrant clinical correlation with beta-hCG levels
how to measure the gestational sac?
- with 2 scan planes
- measurement made in each of the 3 dimensions, of the gestational sac can be used to calculate a mean sac diameter (MSD)
- should be made at the interface between the echogenic border and the fluid
With high-frequency transvaginal technique, a pregnancy dating only 4 weeks and 1 or 2 days from the LMP may be visualized as what measurement?
- 2-3mm fluid collection within the uterus
the MSD should correlate closely with what?
suspected gestational age
Any significant variance or suspicion of pregnancy loss should be closely correlated with?
beta-hCG levels
Normal first-trimester gestational sac growth rate should be approximately?
1mm per day
what is Beta-hCG correlation?
- evidence of a developing intrauterine pregnancy should be seen transvaginally with serum beta-hCG greater that 1000-2000mIU/mL using the International Reference Preparation (IRP) standa
Alpha fetoprotein-AFP?
- produced by
- found in
- normal value
- produced by fetus
- found in amniotic fluid and maternal serum
- normal values vary with gestational age
causes of high AFP?
Underestimated gestational age Fetus older than expected Multiple gestations Open neural tube defect Abdominal wall defect Cystic hygroma Renal anomalies Fetal demise
causes of low AFP values?
Overestimated gestational age Fetus younger than expected Chromosomal abnormalities Trophoblastic disease Long-standing fetal demise Chronic maternal hypertension Diabetes
The sonographic presence of the yolk sac in an early gestational sac can be a predictor of?
a normally progressing pregnancy before visulization of the embryo
With TVS: Gestational sac measuring ____ mm should demonstrate a yolk sac?
<8mm
a <8mm yolk sac is consistent with what week gestation?
5- 5.5 week gestation
yolk sac on u/s?
- a round anechoic structure with an echogenic rim
what does a yolk sac supply?
- nutrition for developing embryo through the vitelline duct
what should the yolk sac and embryo be separated by?
- echogenic amnion but connected by the vitelline
size of yolk sac in 1st trimester?
2-6mm
an abnormally small or large measurement of a yolk sac may be indicative of?
- pending loss or fetal abnormality
how is the yolk sac diameter measured?
- with placement of capilers along the inner borders of the echogenic ring (AP)
the yolk sac is often used to assist in locating?
the developing embryo an dpossible cardiac activity
what characteristics of a yolk sac are associated with a poor prognosis? (3)
- anomalies of the size
- shape
- echogenicity
after the gestational sac has formed and the yolk sac has developed what is seen?
embryo
the embryonic period is considered to be week?
6-10 of the pregnancy
the embryo grows at a rate of?
1mm per day
initially, where is the embryo found and what does it appear as?
- found adjacent to the yolk sac
- appears as a flat, disc-like structure
Faint flickering of this structure, which represents early cardiac activity, may be seen on real-time sonography at?
- 5.5 weeks or when the CRL measures 5mm
With transabdominal technique, the embryo should be visualized in a gestational sac that measures?
25mm
The normal embryonic heart rate range is?
120-180 bpm
If the embryonic heart rate is 100 beats per minute or less what steps should be taken?
- it should be compared with the maternal heart rate to ensure that maternal uterine vessels are not being sampled and inaccurately represented as embryonic cardiac activity
what does an embryo begin a C-shaped appearance?
8 weeks GA
where can the cystic rhombencephalon be seen?
in the posterior embryonic head
at 8 weeks what might be seen?
- cystic rhombencephalon
- limb buds