Ultrasonic determination of gestational age by assessment of fetal kidney size in the third trimester in southwest Nigeria

Abstract

Objective To determine the strength of association between fetal kidney measurements and gestational age (GA) in third‐trimester pregnancies. Methods In a cross‐sectional study in Ile‐Ife, Nigeria, women in the third trimester of a singleton pregnancy who were sure of the date of their last menstrual period or had an early pregnancy scan were recruited consecutively in 2012. Standard biometric measurements were taken, along with fetal kidney length (FKL), anteroposterior diameter (FKAPD), and transverse diameter (FKTD). Fetal kidney volume (FKV) was calculated via the ellipsoid formula. Data were analyzed by Pearson correlation and multivariate linear regression. Results In total, 470 women were recruited. Compared with standard biometric parameters, renal parameters showed better correlation with GA. Among the standard parameters, femur length showed the strongest correlation with GA. FKL and FKV showed stronger positive correlation with GA as compared with FKTD and FKAPD. In multivariate linear regression modeling, FKL alone predicted GA with accuracy of ±10.1 days, whereas a combination of standard and kidney parameters predicted GA with better accuracy of ±8.0 days. Conclusions Compared with standard biometric parameters, fetal renal parameters correlated better with GA in the third trimester. Among the renal parameters, FKL correlated most strongly with GA.

Utilidad de la longitud renal fetal en la predicción de la edad gestacional

“…Estos resultados son similares a estudios previos que demuestran que LRF es útil para la predicción de la EG (11) . Otras investigaciones confirmaron que las mediciones pueden utilizarse como un parámetro ecográfico adicional en la evaluación rutinaria del bienestar fetal y también para descartar malformaciones renales por cambio de tamaño (10) .…”

“…El transductor fue orientado en ángulo de 90° para obtener la visión del eje longitudinal de cada riñón a ambos lados de la aorta abdominal. Todas las mediciones fueron realizadas desde el borde exterior del polo superior hasta el borde exterior del polo inferior, como ha sido descrito previamente (10) . Se realizaron tres mediciones y el valor promedio en milímetros fue utilizado para el análisis estadístico.…”

Second and third trimester estimation of gestational age using ultrasound or maternal symphysis‐fundal height measurements: A systematic review

“…Another 41 articles were considered from other sources, of which 17 were included. The final analysis included 97 full‐text articles 2,17–111 published between 1974 and 2021 (Figure 1, Table S2). Most excluded studies (309 articles, including 18 conference abstracts) did not report an equation to estimate mean or median GA from given measurements or tested an existing formula rather than reporting a new formula (Figure 1).…”

Ultrasound Measurement of Foetal Kidney Length during Healthy Pregnancy: Relationship with Gestational Age

“…The ultrasonogram is regarded as a good tool for evaluating growth and anomalies associated with the foetal kidneys and can aid in the early diagnosis and treatment of some kidney-related abnormalities. Nevertheless, several ultrasound-based studies have demonstrated that beyond the detection of renal anomalies, a relationship exists between foetal kidney length (FKL) and gestational age of the developing foetus and should be considered when estimating the duration of pregnancy ( 3 – 5 ).…”