"Current research on the safety of maternal and fetal MRI is largely limited to MR imaging performed at 1.5 tesla or less. To date, there is no published research on this topic regarding 3-tesla MRI," said study co-author Dr. Andre Chartier, a radiologist at the Naval Medical Center San Diego. "Thus, the purpose of this study is to determine whether there are any deleterious effects to the fetus or neonate after in utero exposure to MR imaging at 3 tesla."
Chartier and colleagues reviewed 81 consecutive healthy newborns who were exposed to 3-tesla MRI while in utero and were born between January 2011 and January 2016. Each newborn who underwent a 3-tesla MRI scan was matched by birth date with one of 162 randomly selected healthy control newborns who did not undergo MRI as a fetus.
The researchers also recorded the estimated gestational age at MRI exposure and infant birth weight for all subjects. In addition, neonatal hearing screening was performed using auditory brainstem response.
Their analysis revealed no significant difference in the average birth weight between the neonates who were exposed to MRI and those who weren't. They also found no evidence of hearing impairment among any of the MRI-scanned neonates or the healthy control newborns.
"As interest in and diagnostic utility of maternal and fetal MRI expands, MR imaging at 3 tesla can be performed safely without harm to the fetus," Chartier told AuntMinnie.com.
