Estimation of Fetal Weight from Transabdominal Ultrasonic Measurements of Fetal  Liver Length.

Park, C H; Kim, S Y; Hwang, T Y; Je, K W

Original Article

Korean Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology 1999;42(5):1074-1078.
Published online January 1, 2001.

Estimation of Fetal Weight from Transabdominal Ultrasonic Measurements of Fetal Liver Length.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
This study attempted to investigate the relationship between fetal liver length by means of transabdominal ultrasound and birth weight. METHODS: From 34 to 42 weeks gestation, 162 measurements of fetal liver length, biparietal diameter, abdominal circumference and femur length respectively were made for the purpose of this study. Linear regression analyses were performed to determine significant relationships and t-test was used to determine statistical significance. RESULTS: There was a highly significant correlation between fetal liver length and birth weight [y=57.3x 154.8, r= 0.76, p<0.05]. There was also a highly significant correlation between abdominal circumference and fetal birth weight [y=16.8x-2376.2, r=0.79, p<0.05]. There was a significant but poor correlation between biparietal diameter and fetal birth weight [y=41.7x-540.0, r=0.44, p<0.05]. There was also a significant but poor correlation between femur length and fetal birth weight [y=54.7x-618.2, r=0.49, p<0.05]. CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that ultrasonic measurement of fetal liver length is more predictive of birth weight than either biparietal diameter or fetal femur length. In addition, it is easy to measure fetal liver length by means of transabdominal ultrasound. Therefore ultrasonic measurement of the fetal liver length seems to be a clinically reliable indicator to predict birth weight.

Key Words: Liver length, abdominal circumference, biparietal diameter, birth weight, femur length