Estimating fetal age: computer-assisted analysis of multiple fetal growth parameters.
Regression models for predicting menstrual age based on real-time sonographic measurements of four fetal parameters (biparietal diameter, head circumference, abdominal circumference, and femur length), used alone and in combination, were developed in a cross-sectional study of 361 fetuses between 14 and 42 menstrual weeks. The head circumference and femur length were the strongest individual predictors of age. A number of combinations of fetal parameters, including the combination of head circumference and femur length, provided age estimates that were significantly better (p = 0.05) than those using any single parameter alone. It was also demonstrated that simply averaging individual age estimates in a given case could provide results that were not significantly different from those obtained by using the same parameters in a complex regression equation. The advantages and potential pitfalls of this system of fetal dating are discussed.
D000005:Abdomen / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D003201:Computers; D005260:Female; D005269:Femur / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D005865:Gestational Age; D006257:Head / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D012044:Regression Analysis; D014463:Ultrasonography