Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32866951›Full record

Trial reportFetal diagnosis and therapy2020

The Management of Myelomeningocele Study: Short-Term Neonatal Outcomes.

Natalie E Rintoul, Roberta L Keller, William F Walsh, Pamela K Burrows, Elizabeth A Thom, Michael J Kallan, Lori J Howell, N Scott Adzick, MOMS Investigators

Abstract readMulticenter StudyRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Fetal diagnosis and therapy, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 1 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

5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Benefits and complications of fetal and postnatal surgery for open spina bifida: systematic review and proportional meta-analysis.Ultrasound in obstetrics & gynecology : the official journal of the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. Prenatal repair of myelomeningocele is associated with lower need for long-term feeding support.Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association · 2026
    Observational
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
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

9 authors.

Natalie E RintoulDivision of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, rintoul@email.chop.edu.
Roberta L KellerDepartment of Pediatrics, Benioff Children's Hospital, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA.
William F WalshDivision of Neonatology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
Pamela K BurrowsThe Biostatistics Center, George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
Elizabeth A ThomThe Biostatistics Center, George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
Michael J KallanDepartment of Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Informatics, Perlelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Lori J HowellCenter for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
N Scott AdzickCenter for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
MOMS Investigators

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionThe Management of Myelomeningocele Study was a multicenter randomized trial to compare prenatal and standard postnatal repair of myelomeningocele (MMC). Neonatal outcome data for 158 of the 183 randomized women were published in The New England Journal of Medicine in 2011.

objectiveNeonatal outcomes for the complete trial cohort (N = 183) are presented outlining the similarities with the original report and describing the impact of gestational age as a mediator.

methodsGestational age, neonatal characteristics at delivery, and outcomes including common complications of prematurity were assessed.

resultsAnalysis of the complete cohort confirmed the initial findings that prenatal surgery was associated with an increased risk for earlier gestational age at birth. Delivery occurred before 30 weeks of gestation in 11% of neonates that had fetal MMC repair. Adverse pulmonary sequelae were rare in the prenatal surgery group despite an increased rate of oligohydramnios. There was no significant difference in other complications of prematurity including patent ductus arteriosus, sepsis, necrotizing enterocolitis, periventricular leukomalacia, and intraventricular hemorrhage.

conclusionThe benefits of prenatal surgery outweigh the complications of prematurity.

Indexed as

Infant, Newborn, DiseasesLeukomalacia, PeriventricularMeningomyeloceleFemaleGestational AgeHumansInfant, Low Birth WeightInfant, NewbornPregnancyMyelomeningoceleNeonatal outcomePrenatal surgeryPreterm delivery

Identifiers

PMID32866951
PMCPMC7845433

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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.