Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine, Vol 1, Issue 3 123-127, Copyright © 1982 by American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine
LTUA--a new and more reproducible method of estimating intrauterine size
W. D. Middleton, J. D. Bowie and S. I. Welt
Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Mo.
A system of estimating intrauterine size by adding the maximal longitudinal
and transverse uterine areas (LTUA) is described. In our hands this
measurement is less prone to observer variability and more sensitive in
diagnosing intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) than the total
intrauterine volume (TIUV) measurement. Intraobserver variability for the
LTUA was 3.7 per cent, whereas that for the TIUV was 10.0 per cent.
Interobserver variability was 6.5 per cent for the LTUA and 12.9 per cent
for the TIUV. Sensitivity for the LTUA and the TIUV was 70 per cent and 40
per cent, respectively, and the respective specificities were 94 per cent
and 96 per cent. These results suggest that the LTUA may be a more accurate
and reliable method of predicting IUGR than is the TIUV.
