Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27207277›Full record

ArticleAmerican journal of obstetrics and gynecology2016

Serial cervical length determination in twin pregnancies reveals 4 distinct patterns with prognostic significance for preterm birth.

Nir Melamed, Alex Pittini, Liran Hiersch, Yariv Yogev, Steven S Korzeniewski, Roberto Romero, Jon Barrett

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in American journal of obstetrics and gynecology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
25citing papers in PubMed, 4 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

25 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. 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
  5. Article
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  8. Observational
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  10. Universal cervical-length screening to prevent preterm birth in twin pregnancy: cost-utility analysis.Ultrasound in obstetrics & gynecology : the official journal of the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology · 2025
    Article
  11. 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
  12. Article
  13. ISUOG Practice Guidelines (updated): role of ultrasound in twin pregnancy.Ultrasound in obstetrics & gynecology : the official journal of the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology · 2025
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  18. Preterm labor is characterized by a high abundance of amniotic fluid prostaglandins in patients with intra-amniotic infection or sterile intra-amniotic 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 · 2021
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  20. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Nir MelamedDivision of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: nir.melamed@sunnybrook.ca.
Alex PittiniDivision of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Liran HierschDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Rabin Medical Center, Petach Tikva, Israel; Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Yariv YogevDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Rabin Medical Center, Petach Tikva, Israel; Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Steven S KorzeniewskiPerinatology Research Branch, Program for Perinatal Research and Obstetrics, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, and Detroit, MI; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI.
Roberto RomeroPerinatology Research Branch, Program for Perinatal Research and Obstetrics, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, and Detroit, MI; Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
Jon BarrettDivision of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

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
Intramural NIH HHS ZIA HD002400
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundWomen with a twin gestation are at increased risk for preterm birth (PTB), and sonographic cervical length (CL) is a powerful predictor for spontaneous PTB. Obstetricians frequently monitor CL in multiple gestations; yet, the optimal method to integrate and interpret the results of serial sonographic CL has not been determined.

objectiveWe sought to determine whether there are different patterns of cervical shortening in twin gestations, and whether such patterns are related to the risk of PTB. STUDY

designWe conducted a retrospective study of all women with twins followed up in a single tertiary referral center during 2012 through 2014. All women underwent serial measurements of CL every 2-3 weeks starting from 14-18 weeks and until 28-32 weeks of gestation. Changes in CL were analyzed and classified into distinct patterns that were initially identified by visual inspection of all individual cases. Each pattern was then characterized by several parameters including information about when cervical shortening began, the rate of shortening, and whether a plateau was observed. Locally weighted regression mean profiles were generated to describe each pattern of CL over time. The association of these patterns with spontaneous PTB was determined. The specific characteristics of each pattern that further determined the risk of PTB were identified using multivariable logistic regression analysis.

resultsWe studied 441 women who had a total of 2826 measurements of CL done. Overall, 4 main patterns of change in CL were identified: pattern I, stable cervix (n = 196); pattern II, early and rapid shortening (n = 18); pattern III, late shortening (n = 109); and pattern IV, early shortening with a plateau (n = 118). The rate of PTB at <34 weeks was lowest in cases of pattern I (11.7%), followed by pattern IV (14.4%) and pattern III (20.2%), and was highest for women with pattern II (44.4%) (P < .001). In cases with pattern III (late shortening), the most important factors affecting the risk of PTB were the shortening rate, the gestational age at the onset of cervical shortening, and the initial plateau of CL. In the case of pattern IV (early shortening with a plateau), it was only the new plateau at which cervical shortening stopped that was associated with the risk of PTB.

conclusionChanges in sonographic CL over time in twin gestations can be classified into 4 patterns, each associated with a different risk of PTB.

Indexed as

Gestational AgePregnancy, TwinUltrasonography, PrenatalAdultCervical Length MeasurementCervix UteriFemaleHumansMalePregnancyPremature BirthPrognosisRetrospective StudiesRisk FactorsTwinsbiomarkercervical ripeninglongitudinal studypredictionpregnancyprematuritypreterm laborultrasound

Identifiers

PMID27207277
PMCPMC5045791

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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.