Value of intrauterine fetal length measurement in assessment of fetal age

Abstract

Background: A perfect assessment of fetal gestational age is a fundamental procedure in different circumstances including clinical, forensic and archaeological. Objectives: The present study aimed to estimate the value of fetal femur length measurement in gestational age assessment. Patients and methods: The present study is an observational study, conducted on one hundred pregnant women. Their ages ranged from 18 to 34 years admitted to department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, South Valley University Hospitals from August 2020 to August 2021. Results: Femur length (FL) ranged between 1.7cm – 6.5cm with a mean value of 4.5±1.2. Biparietal diameter (BPD) ranged between 3.2cm – 8.9cm with a mean value of 6.6±1.4. Abdominal circumference (AC) ranged between 11.1cm – 31.6cm with a mean value of 22.5±6.0. Fundal level ranged between 17 – 36 with a mean value of 26.7±5.4. Agreement coefficient between gestational age by FL and the age of gestation by last menstrual period, BPD, AC and fundal level was (0.992, 0.992, 0.990 and 0.992 respectively) and the correlation was statistically significant. Conclusion: The present work revealed clear associations between the parameters of the femoral growth and the gestational age that demonstrate the significance of these dimensions in the gestational age assessment, and they can be broadly used in forensic circumstances and for investigational functions.

Keywords

• femur length; gestational age; intrauterine