Maternal characteristics and cervical length in the prediction of spontaneous early preterm delivery in twins

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the value of combining maternal characteristics and measurement of cervical length at 22 to 24 weeks in the prediction of spontaneous early preterm delivery. Study design: Cervical length was measured by transvaginal sonography at 22 to 24 weeks in 1163 twin pregnancies attending for routine antenatal care. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the effect of maternal demographic characteristics and cervical length on the risk of spontaneous early preterm delivery. Results: The rate of spontaneous delivery before 32 weeks was 6.5%. The rate of early delivery was inversely related to cervical length, and for a false-positive rate of 10%, the detection rate of early delivery was 65.3%. The respective detection rate for maternal characteristics and obstetric history was 26.4%. Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that the only significant independent predictor of spontaneous early delivery was cervical length. Conclusion: In twins, the prediction of spontaneous early preterm delivery by measurement of cervical length at 22 to 24 weeks is not improved by maternal characteristics.