Sonographic assessment of normal fetal cerebral lateral ventricular diameter at different gestational ages among fetuses in Southern Nigeria

Abstract

Aim: The study was to determine the normal fetal lateral ventricular diameter using ultrasound at different gestational ages (GAs). Materials and Methods: This is a prospective cross-sectional descriptive study of the fetal cerebral lateral ventricular diameter of 685 singleton fetuses. Measurement of the fetal lateral ventricular diameter was obtained from fetuses of pregnant mothers that met the inclusion criteria during the routine ultrasound scan in Calabar metropolis. A sufficient ultrasound gel was applied on the abdomen of the subject and scanning was done at different planes until a good ovoid shape of the fetal skull was achieved. Axial images at the level of the lateral ventricles were obtained. The widest part of the posterior lateral ventricle far from the transducer was measured more than once and the average value computed for each subject. Results: About 85.4% of the patients were multiparous while 14.6 were primipara. The ages of the pregnant mothers ranged from 20 to 35 years with a mean age of 28 ± 3 years. The male fetuses were 311 while the female was 374. The lateral ventricular diameter did not show any significant correlation with fetal characteristics such as gender, estimated fetal weight, and fetal head circumference throughout gestation. However, the fetal ventricular diameter had a weak but not statistically significant correlation with GA of the fetus (r, P = 0.13, 0.06). Conclusion: Our studies show that 10 mm is the acceptable upper limits of normal for fetal lateral ventricular diameter (FLVD) of fetuses in Southern Nigeria. Ventricular diameter out of this normal range in this region could be considered abnormal and may demand further investigations.