Prenatal Assessment of Normal Fetal Humerus Volume by Three-Dimensional Ultrasoun
Resource
ULTRASOUND IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY v.29 n.12 pp.1675-1680
Journal
ULTRASOUND IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY
Journal Volume
v.29
Journal Issue
n.12
Pages
1675-1680
Date Issued
2004
Date
2004
Author(s)
CHANG, CHIUNG-HSIN
YU, CHEN-HSIANG
KO, HUEI-CHEN
CHANG, FONG-MING
CHEN, HSI-YAO
Abstract
Because fetal humerus dysplasia is associated with a variety of congenital syndromes, prenatal assessment of the fetal humerus growth is very important. The fetal humerus volume is one of the indexes in evaluating the humerus growth, but it has never been studied by 3-D ultrasound (US) in utero. To establish a normal reference chart of the fetal humerus volume for clinical use, we undertook a prospective and cross-sectional study using 3-D US to assess the fetal humerus volume in normal pregnancy. A total of 216 singleton fetuses that ranged between 20 and 40 weeks of gestation and fit the criteria of normal pregnancies were included in this study. Our results showed that the fetal humerus volume is highly correlated with the gestational age (GA). Using GA as the independent variable and the humerus volume as the dependent variable, the best-fit regression equation was humerus volume (mL) = 0.0044GA(2) - 0. 0841GA + 0.6874 (r = 0 .97, n = 216, p < 0.0001). For clinical use, a chart of normal growth centiles of the fetal humerus volume was then established based on this equation. In addition, the common indexes of fetal biometry, such as biparietal diameter, occipitofrontal diameter, head circumference, abdominal circumference, femur length and estimated fetal weight, were all highly correlated with the humerus volume (all p < 0. 0001). In conclusion, our data of the fetal humerus volume assessed by 3-D US can serve as a useful reference in evaluating the fetal humerus growth during normal gestation. (E-mail: fchang@mail.ncku.edu.tw) (C) 2003 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine Biology.
Subjects
three-dimensional ultrasound
fetus
humerus volume