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© 2002 by the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine
J Ultrasound Med 21:361-366 • 0278-4297

Article

Three-dimensional Sonographic Measurement of Liver Volume in the Small-for-Gestational-Age Fetus

Atsushi Kuno, MD, PhD, Yoshinobu Hayashi, MD, Masashi Akiyama, MD, PhD, Chizu Yamashiro, MD, PhD, Hirokazu Tanaka, MD, PhD, Toshihiro Yanagihara, MD, PhD and Toshiyuki Hata, MD, PhD

Department of Perinatology and Gynecology, Kagawa Medical University, Kagawa, Japan.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Atsushi Kuno, MD, PhD, Department of Perinatology and Gynecology, Kagawa Medical University, 1750-1 Ikenobe, Miki, Kagawa 761-0793, Japan.

Objective. To assess the growth of the fetal liver in normal pregnancies and to evaluate the ability of fetal liver volume measurement for prediction of small-for-gestational-age fetuses. Methods. Three-dimensional sonographic examinations were performed on 14 appropriate-for-gestational-age and 10 small-for-gestational-age fetuses. Liver volume and liver length were measured every 2 weeks after 20 weeks' menstrual age until delivery. Results. A curvilinear relationship was found between the menstrual age and liver volume (R2 = 88.4%; P < .0001), and a normal range of liver volume measurement for estimating the growth of the fetal liver during normal pregnancy was generated. Liver length was normal in 7 of 10 small-for-gestational-age fetuses, whereas liver volume values in all small-forgestational-age fetuses were below normal ranges in the mid to late third trimester. Conclusions. Our findings suggest that liver volume may be a useful measurement for diagnosing small-for-gestational-age fetuses in the mid to late third trimester but that liver length may not be predictive. Further studies involving a larger sample size would be needed to confirm this suggestion.

Abbreviations: AGA, appropriate-for-gestational-age • IUGR, intrauterine growth restriction • LL, liver length • LV, liver volume • SGA, small-for-gestational-age • 3D, three-dimensional • 2D, two-dimensional

Key Words: three-dimensional sonography • two-dimensional sonography • liver volume • liver length • small-for-gestational-age fetus

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Copyright © 2002 by the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine.