Cervical gland area as an ultrasonographic marker for preterm delivery

To assess the association between spontaneous preterm delivery (SPTD) in the general population and the measurement of the cervix length, cervical funneling, and absence of the cervical gland area (CGA). A prospective cohort of 338 women carrying uncomplicated pregnancies was evaluated by transvaginal sonography between 21 and 24 weeks' gestation. Measurement of cervical length with less than 20 mm and the presence of cervical funneling presented a statistically significant association with SPTD before 35 weeks. The non-detection of CGA demonstrated a strong association with SPTD before 37 weeks' ( p < 0.001; OR = 194.5) and before 35 weeks' gestation ( p < 0.001; OR = 129.6). The multiple logistic regression analysis suggested the non-detection of CGA as the only variable to reveal statistically significance association with SPTD. The results seem to indicate that the absence of CGA can be a new and important ultrasound marker for SPTD, to be confirmed by future multicenter investigations.