Evaluation of Fetal Lung Maturity Correlated by Various Ultrasound Parameters as Noninvasive Method

Background: Neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) continues to be a major problem in perinatology, contributing to the morbidity and death of preterm babies. To lower the risk of newborn RDS, the major objective of this study was to measure fetal lung maturity utilizing various color Doppler and multiple ultrasonography characteristics. Methods: This research was conducted on a cohort of 100 pregnant women who gave birth at Benha University Hospitals between February 26, 2022 and August 25, 2022, spanning six months. According to the occurrence of RDS, we categorized our study subjects into two groups: Group RDS+: n = 13; group RDS-: n = 87. Regarding (Maternal age, Parity, Type of delivery), there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups, but there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups regarding (Gestational age at Birth and NBW). Results: According to ultrasonography measurements, the Mann-Whitney test revealed no significant changes in the main pulmonary artery diameter (MPA), trans cerebellar diameter, or placental thickness between the study groups. The chi-square test revealed significant differences between proximal tibial epiphysis and thalamic echogenicity (p 0.001). Positive PTE results were seen in 91.95 percent of the non-RDS group compared to 7.69 percent of the RDS group. Thalamic echogenicity was seen in 88.5% of the non-RDS group compared to 15.38% of the RDS group. Conclusions: The development of newborn RDS may be accurately predicted using certain acoustic characteristics. The ultrasonic identification of the proximal tibial ossification sites and thalamic echogenicity demonstrated the highest accuracy in predicting fetal lung maturity.