Advancements in Maternal–Fetal Medicine: 2nd Edition

A special issue of Diagnostics (ISSN 2075-4418). This special issue belongs to the section "Clinical Diagnosis and Prognosis".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 393

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Victor Babes”, 300001 Timisoara, Romania
Interests: gynecology; obstetrics; gynecological oncology; endocrinology and reproductive medicine; ethics; medical education; research design; epidemiology and statistics; computer applications
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The new Special Issue aims to improve the indicators of perinatal morbidity and mortality by publishing research conducted by specialists in maternal–fetal medicine. The published articles will address topics related to the diagnosis and management of high-risk pregnancies, complications, and modern therapies in obstetrics. We invite you to continue researching maternal–fetal and obstetrical difficulties, from early pregnancy and placentation to prenatal diagnostics, fetal therapy, and maternal–fetal and obstetrical complications, by submitting original research articles, case studies, case reports, and reviews.

Dr. Elena Bernad
Guest Editor

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Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diagnostics is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • pregnancy
  • fetus
  • ultrasound
  • maternal–fetal medicine
  • perinatal care high risk
  • obstetrics
  • complication
  • screening
  • diagnostics
  • fetal distress

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

12 pages, 615 KiB  
Article
Diagnostic Efficacy of Cervical Elastography in Predicting Spontaneous Preterm Birth in Pregnancies with Threatened Preterm Labor
by Hayan Kwon, Ji-Hee Sung, Hyun Soo Park, Ja-Young Kwon, Yun Ji Jung, Hyun-Joo Seol, Hyun Mi Kim, Won Joon Seong, Han Sung Hwang, Soo-Young Oh and on behalf of The Korean Consortium for the Study of Cervical Elastography in Prediction of Preterm Delivery
Diagnostics 2025, 15(15), 1934; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics15151934 - 31 Jul 2025
Viewed by 218
Abstract
Background/Objective: Accurately identifying women at high risk for preterm birth among those with threatened preterm labor (PTL) is crucial for effective interventions or tocolytic management to reduce preterm birth and its complications. This study aimed to determine the predictive value of cervical [...] Read more.
Background/Objective: Accurately identifying women at high risk for preterm birth among those with threatened preterm labor (PTL) is crucial for effective interventions or tocolytic management to reduce preterm birth and its complications. This study aimed to determine the predictive value of cervical elastography for preterm delivery before 37 weeks of gestation in patients with threatened PTL and a cervical length greater than 15 mm. Methods: This prospective cohort study included pregnant women presenting with threatened PTL at between 24 and 34 weeks gestation. All participants underwent cervical elastography at diagnosis. We compared cervical elastography parameters between women who delivered spontaneously preterm (<37 weeks) and those who delivered at full term and assessed the ability of these parameters to predict spontaneous preterm delivery. Results: Among the 107 enrolled individuals with threatened PTL and a cervical length of ≥15 mm, 55 (42%) experienced preterm birth (<37 weeks). Internal os stiffness (IOS), internal-to-external os stiffness ratio (IOS/EOS ratio), and elasticity contrast index (ECI) were significantly associated with a risk of preterm birth compared to full-term birth. The IOS/EOS ratio was associated with 10-fold higher odds of preterm birth at <37 weeks (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.82–59.98), and ECI was associated with 1.5-fold higher odds (95% CI, 1.01–2.37). The IOS/EOS ratio demonstrated good predictive value (area under the curve (AUC) = 0.678) and the combination of CL ≤ 25 mm and the IOS/EOS ratio had good diagnostic performance for predicting preterm birth (AUC = 0.708). Conclusions: Cervical elastography using the E-Cervix™ system appears to improve the ability to predict preterm birth in pregnant women with threatened PTL and a cervical length greater than 15 mm. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancements in Maternal–Fetal Medicine: 2nd Edition)
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