Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41522076›Full record

ArticleQuantitative imaging in medicine and surgery2026

A comparative study of shear wave elastography on preterm birth risk in women with natural pregnancies and

Huiling Lu, Yongke Luo, Yonghao Ji, Jing Zhang, Dan Wu, Fangrui Yang, Mengli Hu

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Quantitative imaging in medicine and surgery, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. 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

7 authors.

Huiling LuDepartment of Ultrasonography, Baoji Central Hospital, Baoji, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0005-5550-8033
Yongke LuoDepartment of Ultrasonography, Baoji People's Hospital, Baoji, China.
Yonghao JiDepartment of Ultrasonography, Baoji Central Hospital, Baoji, China.
Jing ZhangDepartment of Ultrasonography, Baoji Central Hospital, Baoji, China.
Dan WuDepartment of Ultrasonography, Baoji Central Hospital, Baoji, China.
Fangrui YangDepartment of Ultrasonography, Baoji Central Hospital, Baoji, China.
Mengli HuDepartment of Ultrasonography, Baoji Central Hospital, Baoji, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Shear wave elastography (SWE) can evaluate cervical function by measuring the stiffness of the cervix of pregnant women. The aim of this study was to investigate the value of transvaginal ultrasound real-time SWE for assessing cervical elasticity in different modes of conception for the prediction of preterm birth. Methods: This prospective study included 100 women with in vitro fertilization embryo transfer (IVF-ET) singleton pregnancies at 16-28 weeks of gestation. A total of 150 women who conceived naturally constituted the control group. Basic data, pregnancy complications, pregnancy outcomes, and ultrasound measurements, including the cervical length (CL), the uterocervical angle (UCA), and Young's modulus values of cervical duct elasticity, were compared between the two groups. Predictors of preterm birth were analyzed according to pregnancy outcomes, a binary regression model was constructed with significant variables to analyze the predictive value of multiple factors for spontaneous preterm birth (SPB) in different pregnancy modes, and the predictive value of the regression model was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Results: In the comparison of the two groups of cases in this study, the Young's modulus value of cervical elasticity measured by ultrasound in the IVF group was higher than that in the natural pregnancy group, and there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups (P<0.05). The CL and elastic Young's modulus values of the upper lip of the endocervical os (point A) were lower in preterm patients than those in full-term patients in both groups. The rate of endocervical opening was higher in preterm patients than it was in full-term patients. There was a statistically significant difference between preterm patients and full-term patients (P<0.05). A multifactorial logistic regression model revealed that the endocervical os morphology, CL, and mean value of elastic Young's modulus of the upper lip of the endocervical os (point A) were independent factors affecting the occurrence of preterm birth in different modes of conception, with complete closure of the endocervical os, a long CL, and a large value of the Emean of point A being protective factors for preterm labor. Point A Emean values <15.3 kPa in the natural pregnancy group and <14.7 kPa in the IVF-ET group resulted in an increased risk of preterm birth. Conclusions: Real-time SWE measurement of Young's modulus of cervical duct elasticity in pregnant women with different modes of conception is valuable for predicting spontaneous preterm birth, and a combined prediction model consisting of elastic Young's modulus values of the upper lip of the endocervical os (point A) together with the CL and endocervical os morphology is even more valuable for predicting spontaneous preterm birth in pregnant women who underwent IVF-ET.

Indexed as

cervical length (CL)In vitro fertilization embryo transfer (IVF-ET)preterm birthshear wave elastography (SWE)uterocervical angle (UCA)

Identifiers

PMID41522076
PMCPMC12780688

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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.