Early Ultrasounds Might Not Detect Zika-Related Microcephaly; MRI Scans Could Be Better Predictor, Study Says

News outlets report on a study published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine describing a case of fetal abnormality detection in a pregnant woman with Zika infection.

NPR: Pregnant Women May Be Able To Get Answers About Zika Earlier
“…The case — published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine — offers insights into how Zika infects a fetus and suggests ways women may be able to find out earlier whether babies will have birth defects. … [W]ith this new case, doctors could see brain abnormalities by MRI before there were signs of microcephaly…” (Doucleff, 3/30).

Reuters: Early ultrasounds may not detect microcephaly in mothers with Zika: study
“… ‘What our paper suggests is that physicians should use caution in reassuring patients who have normal fetal ultrasound examinations early in their pregnancies,’ said Adre du Plessis, director of the Fetal Medicine Institute at Children’s National Health System in Washington, D.C., a coauthor of the study published on Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. Du Plessis said single ultrasounds may not capture infection-associated fetal brain abnormalities that may worsen over the course of the pregnancy…” (Steenhuysen, 3/30).

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