International Journal of Pharma and Bio Sciences
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10.22376/ijpbs.2019.10.1.p1-12
Volume 4 Issue 1
2013 (January - March)
ESTIMATION OF GESTATIONAL AGE BY MEASURING THE FEMUR LENGTH: A SONOGRAPHY STUDY
Sonography is a useful tool for estimating gestational age in cases where the pregnancy cannot be dated accurately by clinical evaluation. The present work was undertaken with a view to study the relationship between the femur length and gestational age. Attempt has been made to estimate gestational age more reliably by taking measurement of foetal femur length. Materials & Methods: This study was conducted at T.N Medical College and B.Y.L.Nair Hospital for a period of two years. Patients referred for ultrasound examinations were studied. A real time ultrasound was performed on 215 pregnant women with history of regular menses and knew unequivocally the beginning day of the last menstrual period. The measurements of the biparietal diameter and femur length were made using electronic calipers. Observation: The results of present study are shown in tabulated form in table no. 1,2,3,4 & 5. Conclusion: Predictions of gestational age by sonography have been shown to be more accurate than predictions from the date of last menstrual period even if the women are certain of their dates .Estimation of gestational age is more reliable using femur length because variability is more in biparietal diameter in second and third trimester as compared to length of femur. Finally the femur length is a useful substitute when head measurements are unobtainable and can be confirmative when they are available.
DR ILA GUJARIA
Gestational age, Femur length, Sonography
213-219