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Fetal liver volume measurement by three‐dimensional ultrasonography: a preliminary study

1998; Wiley; Volume: 12; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1046/j.1469-0705.1998.12020093.x

1469-0705

J. A. M. Laudy, M. M. M. Janssen, P.C. Struyk, Theo Stijnen, H.C.S. Wallenburg, J. W. Wladimiroff,

Congenital Anomalies and Fetal Surgery

To establish the application of three-dimensional ultrasonography in measuring fetal liver volume during the second half of normal pregnancy.A prospective cross-sectional study of normal fetal liver volume at 19-39 weeks of gestation (median 29 weeks).Thirty-four non-smoking women with a singleton pregnancy resulting in the delivery of a healthy infant with a birth weight between the 5th and 95th centiles according to the Kloosterman tables adjusted for maternal parity and fetal sex.For fetal liver volume measurements, a simultaneous recording of a frontal section of the liver immediately anterior to the stomach and a sagittal section of the liver were obtained using a standard Combison 530 ultrasound machine with a 5-MHz annular array transducer for volume scanning.Technically acceptable fetal liver volume measurements were obtained in 25 of 34 participating women. Mean fetal liver volume data (P50) ranged between 8 ml at 20 weeks' gestation and 116 ml at 38 weeks' gestation. A statistically significant increase in normal fetal liver volume was found with advancing gestational age (p < 0.0001) and with increasing estimated fetal weight (p < 0.00001).Three-dimensional ultrasound allows measurement of fetal liver volume, and this demonstrated an approximately 14-fold increase during the second half of pregnancy. It is speculated that three-dimensional fetal liver volume measurement may identify the fetus at risk of growth restriction.