title: Clinical and sonographic assessment of liver size in normal Chinese neonates.
abstract: Liver size and midclavicular line were measured by clinical and sonographic methods in 145 normal Chinese neonates with gestational ages of 34-42 weeks. The liver span, measured by clinical methods with percussion and percussion/palpation methods, correlated well with that measured by sonography (r = 0.73 and r = 0.76, respectively) for the entire sample. The liver spans (mean +/- SD) obtained by sonography were 4.24 +/- 0.63 cm and 4.58 +/- 0.56 cm in the preterm and term neonates, respectively. The liver span (sonography) and the distance of the liver edge below the right costal margin were weakly related in the term neonates (r = 0.36), but unrelated in the preterm neonates. We conclude that the liver span is a better estimate of liver size than the distance below the right coastal margin in normal neonates. We also found that the mean liver span is approximately 1 cm smaller in Chinese neonates than in Western neonates.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, Tzu-Chi Buddhist General Hospital, Hualien, Taiwan, Republic of China.
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D001699:Biometry / Q000379:methods; D002681:China; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn / Q000254:growth & development*; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000254:growth & development; D008099:Liver / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000254:growth & development*; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012016:Reference Values; D014463:Ultrasonography