Objective

To analyse prenatal work-up, associated anomalies and postnatal outcomes of foetuses with cerebral lateral ventricular width 9–9.9 mm.

Method

This retrospective, observational, case-control study included 121 foetuses with initial presentation of isolated cerebral lateral ventricular width 9–9.9 mm detected during routine ultrasound scans, 21–24 weeks' gestation, in a tertiary referral centre, January 2001–December 2018. Controls included 123 foetuses with lateral ventricular width <9 mm measured under the same parameters. Clinical characteristics, obstetrical history, ultrasound findings, prenatal work-up and pregnancy outcomes were collected from medical records. Information about postnatal functional and neurodevelopmental sequelae were obtained from telephone-based questionnaires.

Results

The study group had more males (82/116 (70.6%) versus 65/123 (52.8%), p = 0.004), more prenatal testing, including brain magnetic resonance imaging (28/116 (24.1%) versus 0/123 (0%), p < 0.001), echocardiography (46/116 (39.7%) versus 15/123 (12.2%), p < 0.001) and targeted anomaly scans (102/116 (87.9%) versus 1/123 (0.008%), p < 0.001). Long-term follow-up did not reveal more neurodevelopmental sequelae compared to controls. Gender-based analysis found more males with ventricular dilatation 9–9.9 mm treated for developmental delay compared to females with similar findings (15/82 (18.2%) versus 1/34 (2.9%), p = 0.010).

Conclusion

Foetuses with 9–9.9 mm cerebral lateral ventricular width versus <9 mm underwent more prenatal testing but had similar rates of neurodevelopmental sequelae.