ArticlePediatric research2025
Prenatal diagnosis of tracheo-oesophageal fistula/oesophageal atresia: is MRI helpful?
Article in Pediatric research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Type C esophageal atresia masked by multiple overlapping causes of polyhydramnios in a monochorionic diamniotic twin pregnancy: A case report.Case reports in women's health · 2026Article
- Ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging of fetal gastrointestinal tract disorders.Abdominal radiology (New York) · 2026Review
- Article
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2 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundOesophageal atresia (OA) with or without tracheo-oesophageal fistula (TOF) affects 2.75 per 10,000 births within the UK. It is most frequently suspected on antenatal imaging when the stomach is absent or appears small. Studies have shown fetal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has greater diagnostic accuracy than ultrasound; however, there remains uncertainty over what size constitutes a small stomach and how frequently this correlates with a diagnosis of TOF/OA.
methodsA retrospective study of patients referred for fetal MRI due to suspicions of TOF/OA on antenatal ultrasound from 2011 to 2022. We also included patients with a fetal MRI suspecting TOF/OA who had been referred for other reasons. The indication, MRI findings and postnatal outcome were compared to assess diagnostic accuracy. For each case, the size of the stomach bubble was measured on MRI, and stomach volumes in a control group were measured for comparison.
resultsThe positive predictive value for USS was 45.5% and 51.7% for fetal MRI. Fetal MRI had a negative predictive value and sensitivity of 100% (p = 0.027). The control group showed a strong positive correlation between stomach size and increasing gestational age (R
conclusionFetal MRI can accurately exclude TOF/OA but only has marginally improved positive predictive value over ultrasound. Research with larger numbers is required to further aid the development of a cut-off value for what can be considered a pathologically small stomach. IMPACT: There are several features on imaging that raise the suspicion of TOF/OA. Fetal MRI has some improved diagnostic accuracy compared with antenatal ultrasound alone; however, it is only marginally better. Absence of stomach bubble and presence of oesophageal dilatation combined on fetal MRI are more diagnostic of TOF/OA.
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