Assessment of Fetal Adrenal Gland Volume Using Three-Dimensional Ultrasound
Resource
ULTRASOUND IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY v.28 n.11-12 pp.1383-1387
Journal
ULTRASOUND IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY
Journal Volume
v.28
Journal Issue
n.11-12
Pages
1383-1387
Date Issued
2002
Date
2002
Author(s)
CHANG, CHIUNG-HSIN
YU, CHEN-HSIANG
CHANG, FONG-MING
KO, HUEI-CHEN
CHEN, HSI-YAO
Abstract
To assess the normal fetal adrenal gland volume during normal gestation, we performed a prospective study on 119 normal fetuses with gestational age ranging from 21 to 40 weeks using a 3-D ultrasound (US) volume scanner with a pure cross-sectional design. Polynomial regression analysis was calculated to find the best-fit model between gestational age (GA) and adrenal gland volume. In addition, estimated fetal weight (EFW) was also measured to demonstrate the correlation between adrenal gland volume and fetal weight. Our results showed that fetal adrenal gland volume is highly correlated with GA. Furthermore, using GA as the independent variable and adrenal gland volume as the dependent variable, the best-fit regression equation was adrenal glands volume (mL) = -0.2683 x GA + 0.0082 x GA(2) + 3.1927 (r = 0.93, n = 119, p < 0.0001). For clinical use, a chart of normal growth centiles of fetal adrenal gland volume in utero was then calculated based on this equation. In addition, fetal adrenal gland volume during normal gestation is also highly correlated with EFW (p < 0.0001). In conclusion, our data of fetal adrenal gland volume assessed by 3-D US can serve as a useful reference in evaluating fetal growth status during gestation. (E-mail: fchang@mail.ncku.edu.tw) (C) 2002 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine Biology.
Subjects
3-D
ultrasound fetus
adrenal gland volume