Purpose To investigate the abnormal brain development in fetuses with isolated mild to moderate ventriculomegaly(VM)during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy by using semi-quantitative fetal total maturation score(fTMS).Materials and Methods A retrospective analysis was performed on 45 normal fetuses and 78 abnormal fetuses who underwent fetal MRI in the General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University from January 2018 to October 2022.fTMS was used to score all images.Linear regression was used to assess the relationship between fTMS and gestational age between normal and abnormal fetuses and to analyze the differences between fetuses with isolated mild and moderate VM and controls.Results In the control group,fetal fTMS was significantly positively correlated with gestational age(r=0.939,P<0.05).The linear regression equation between fTMS(Y)and gestational age(X)was as follows:Y=-28.1+1.25X.In the mild and moderate isolated VM groups,fTMS was positively correlated with gestational age(r=0.945,0.906,P<0.05).The linear regression equations of fTMS(Y)and gestational age(X)were:Y=-28.46+1.24X,Y=-25.57+1.13X.The average fTMS of healthy fetus,mild VM and moderate VM were(10.55±4.25)points,(10.13+4.08)points and(9.22±3.77)points,respectively.There was no significant difference in fTMS between the 49 fetuses with mild isolated VM and the control group(t=1.651,P>0.05).There was significant difference in fTMS between the 29 fetuses with moderate isolated VM and the control group(t=2.306,P<0.05).Conclusion fTMS is suitable for routine clinical use and sensitive to differences in brain maturation between fetuses with isolated moderate VM and healthy controls.
Magnetic resonance imagingFetusSemi-quantitative score of brain maturationGestational age