Cervical gland area as an ultrasonographic marker for preterm delivery

Objective:To assess the association between spontaneous preterm delivery (SPTD) in the general population and the measurement of the cervix length, cervical funneling, and absence of the cervical gland area (CGA).Method:A prospective cohort of 338 women carrying uncomplicated pregnancies was evaluated by transvaginal sonography between 21 and 24 weeks' gestation.Results:Measurement of cervical length with less than 20 mm and the presence of cervical funneling presented a statistically significant association with SPTD before 35 weeks. The non-detection of CGA demonstrated a strong association with SPTD before 37 weeks' (p < 0.001; OR = 194.5) and before 35 weeks' gestation (p < 0.001; OR = 129.6). The multiple logistic regression analysis suggested the non-detection of CGA as the only variable to reveal statistically significance association with SPTD.Conclusion:The results seem to indicate that the absence of CGA can be a new and important ultrasound marker for SPTD, to be confirmed by future multicenter investigations.