Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26070703›Full record

SynthesisAmerican journal of obstetrics and gynecology2015

Predictive accuracy of changes in transvaginal sonographic cervical length over time for preterm birth: a systematic review and metaanalysis.

Agustin Conde-Agudelo, Roberto Romero

Abstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in American journal of obstetrics and gynecology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
34citing papers in PubMed, 8 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

34 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  6. Vaginal progesterone decreases preterm birth and neonatal morbidity and mortality in women with a twin gestation and a short cervix: an updated meta-analysis of individual patient data.Ultrasound in obstetrics & gynecology : the official journal of the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology · 2017
    Pooled it
  7. Home uterine monitoring for detecting preterm labour.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2017
    Pooled it
  8. Vaginal progesterone decreases preterm birth ≤ 34 weeks of gestation in women with a singleton pregnancy and a short cervix: an updated meta-analysis including data from the OPPTIMUM study.Ultrasound in obstetrics & gynecology : the official journal of the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology · 2016
    Pooled it
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  14. Management of twin pregnancies: Remaining challenges and unanswered questions.International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics · 2025
    Review
  15. Prevention of preterm birth in twin pregnancy: international Delphi consensus.Ultrasound in obstetrics & gynecology : the official journal of the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology · 2025
    Article
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  20. Preterm labor with intact membranes: a simple noninvasive method to identify patients at risk for intra-amniotic infection and/or inflammation.The journal of maternal-fetal & neonatal medicine : the official journal of the European Association of Perinatal Medicine, the Federation of Asia and Oceania Perinatal Societies, the International Society of Perinatal Obstetricians · 2022
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Agustin Conde-AgudeloPerinatology Research Branch, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development/National Institutes of Health/Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD, and Detroit, MI.
Roberto RomeroPerinatology Research Branch, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development/National Institutes of Health/Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD, and Detroit, MI; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI; Department of Molecular Obstetrics and Genetics, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI. Electronic address: romeror@mail.nih.gov.

Funding

The Role Of Subclinical Infection And Cytokines In Preterm ParturitionZIAHD002400 · NICHD · EUNICE KENNEDY SHRIVER NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CHILD HEALTH & HUMAN DEVELOPMENT · PI ROMERO, ROBERTO · 2009 to 2025
$254.4M
THE ROLE OF SUBCLINICAL INFECTION AND CYTOKINES IN PRETERM PARTURITIONZ01HD002400 · NICHD · EUNICE KENNEDY SHRIVER NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CHILD HEALTH & HUMAN DEVELOPMENT · PI ROMERO, ROBERTO · 1992 to 2008
$8.2M
Intramural NIH HHS Z01 HD002400
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo determine the accuracy of changes in transvaginal sonographic cervical length over time in predicting preterm birth in women with singleton and twin gestations. DATA SOURCES: PubMed, Embase, Cinahl, Lilacs, and Medion (all from inception to June 30, 2015), bibliographies, Google scholar, and conference proceedings. Cohort or cross-sectional studies reporting on the predictive accuracy for preterm birth of changes in cervical length over time. STUDY APPRAISAL AND SYNTHESIS

methodsTwo reviewers independently selected studies, assessed the risk of bias, and extracted the data. Summary receiver-operating characteristic curves, pooled sensitivities and specificities, and summary likelihood ratios were generated.

resultsFourteen studies met the inclusion criteria, of which 7 provided data on singleton gestations (3374 women) and 8 on twin gestations (1024 women). Among women with singleton gestations, the shortening of cervical length over time had a low predictive accuracy for preterm birth at <37 and <35 weeks of gestation with pooled sensitivities and specificities, and summary positive and negative likelihood ratios ranging from 49% to 74%, 44% to 85%, 1.3 to 4.1, and 0.3 to 0.7, respectively. In women with twin gestations, the shortening of cervical length over time had a low to moderate predictive accuracy for preterm birth at <34, <32, <30, and <28 weeks of gestation with pooled sensitivities and specificities, and summary positive and negative likelihood ratios ranging from 47% to 73%, 84% to 89%, 3.8 to 5.3, and 0.3 to 0.6, respectively. There were no statistically significant differences between the predictive accuracies for preterm birth of cervical length shortening over time and the single initial and/or final cervical length measurement in 8 of 11 studies that provided data for making these comparisons. In the largest and highest-quality study, a single measurement of cervical length obtained at 24 or 28 weeks of gestation was significantly more predictive of preterm birth than any decrease in cervical length between these gestational ages.

conclusionsChange in transvaginal sonographic cervical length over time is not a clinically useful test to predict preterm birth in women with singleton or twin gestations. A single cervical length measurement obtained between 18 and 24 weeks of gestation appears to be a better test to predict preterm birth than changes in cervical length over time.

Indexed as

Cervical Length MeasurementFemaleGestational AgeHumansLikelihood FunctionsPredictive Value of TestsPregnancyPregnancy, TwinPremature BirthSensitivity and Specificitylongitudinal studiespredictive value of testprematurityscreeningshortening in cervical lengthsingleton gestationtwin gestation

Identifiers

PMID26070703
PMCPMC4675685

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.