title: Ultrasound-determined fetal subcutaneous tissue thickness for a birthweight prediction model.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to explore a birthweight prediction model using ultrasound determined tissue thickness (SCTT) parameters.
  
  
  METHODS
  We measured routine ultrasonographic biometric parameters and in addition, fetal SCTT in 201 healthy singleton pregnancies. Mid-arm fat and lean mass, mid-thigh fat and lean mass, subscapular fat mass and abdominal fat mass (AFM) were measured in order to calculate a birthweight prediction model. Ultrasound measurements were analyzed using an 'anovarepeated measures model'. The growth rate (beta-slope) of the selected parameters was computed and the correlation coefficient with the birthweight and the Kendall rank correlation tau, were calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  From the ultrasound determined SCTT parameters, only abdominal circumference (AC), AFM, and MTLM showed a statistically significant trend. The beta-slope of mid-thigh lean mass was excluded since it exhibited significant correlation with the beta-slope of AFM. The final regression model could be calculated as: birthweight (gr.) = intercept +alpha(1)(AFM beta-slope) + alpha(2)(AC beta-slope), where alpha(1), alpha(2) represent regression coefficients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We provide a graphical birthweight prediction model for clinical practice using conventional and specific ultrasound measurements of fetal subcutaneous tissue thickness. This model is based upon an overall analysis of the ultrasound estimated body components.
authors.affiliation: Department of Perinatal Medicine, Tor Vergata University, and AFaR (Associazione Fatebenefratelli per la Ricerca), Fatebenefratelli Isola Tiberina Hospital, Rome, Italy. giovanni@giovannilarciprete.it
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Larciprete
authors.forename: Herbert
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Valensise
authors.forename: Giulia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Barbati
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Di Pierro
authors.forename: Sheba
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jarvis
authors.forename: Therese
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Deaibess
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gioia
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Giacomello
authors.forename: Elio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cirese
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Arduini
mesh_terms: D050153:Abdominal Fat / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000196:embryology*; D000328:Adult; D001724:Birth Weight / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011247:Pregnancy; D012044:Regression Analysis; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal / Q000379:methods*