Second-trimester measurements of placental volume by three-dimensional ultrasound to predict small-for-gestational-age infants.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to investigate the value of second-trimester three-dimensional sonographic placental volume measurements to predict infants who are below the 10th centile for birth weight.


METHODS
Placental volume measurements were performed using three-dimensional ultrasound in 382 women with normal singleton pregnancies at 16-23 weeks' gestation. Logistic multivariate regression consisting of variables considered to influence birth weight was used to predict infants with a birth weight below the 10th centile from the placental volume measurements.


RESULTS
Prognostic influence could be shown for placental volume (p < or = 0.0001), gestational week at the time of measurement (p = 0.0002) and maternal weight at the time of registration (p = 0.0025). Values for specificity and sensitivity achieved by choosing an 'optimal' cut-off point of 0.16 for the estimation probability for a small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infant were low at 82.5% and 52.5%, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
Three-dimensional sonographic measurement of the placental volume alone is not a satisfactory technique for predicting SGA infants.
Hafner
E
E
Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Clinical Gynecology and Obstetrics, Danube Hospital, SMZO, Vienna, Austria.
Philipp
T
T
Schuchter
K
K
Dillinger-Paller
B
B
Philipp
K
K
Bauer
P
P
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007236:Infant, Small for Gestational Age; D015588:Observer Variation; D010920:Placenta / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011262:Pregnancy Trimester, Second; D011379:Prognosis; D012372:ROC Curve; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal