Accuracy of ultrasonic fetal weight prediction in preterm infants

Abstract

We analyzed the accuracy of four previously reported ultrasound formulas by means of abdominal circumference and/or biparietal diameter measurement for the prediction of fetal weight in the preterm infant (<2,000 gm). The birth weights of 25 preterm infants delivered within 72 hours of ultrasound measurement were compared to the weights calculated by formulas derived from the ultrasound measurements, and the accuracy of each formula was determined. A high degree of correlation was found for the logarithmic formulas with the use of both biparietal diameter and abdominal circumference measurement. Our data suggest that the present ultrasound methodology is of sufficient accuracy to warrant the use of ultrasonic measurement to predict fetal weight prospectively before delivery of the very low-birth weight infant. We also retrospectively reviewed the previous 4-year neonatal mortality rate for infant weighing between 500 and 2,000 gm at birth at Duke University.