Real-time ultrasound estimations of weight in fetuses of diabetic gravid women

To test the applicability of equations for fetal weight estimations in a group of fetuses suspected of being large for gestational age, real-time ultrasound measurements of fetal biparietal diameters and abdominal circumferences were obtained for 34 fetuses of diabetic mothers. In the first phase of the study the accuracy in the prediction of weight was assessed with use of two known equations. In the second phase, biparietal diameter, abdominal circumference, and actual birth weight data of the 34 study fetuses were used as independent variables to determine the best-fitting equation for relating estimated fetal weight (EFW) to biparietal diameter (BPD) and abdominal circumference (AC); this equation is log (EFW) = 0.02597 AC + 0.2161 BPD - 0.1999 (AC × BPD²)/1000 + 1.2659. The standard deviation of differences is 322.26 gm and multiple R = 0.781. In the final phase the reliability of this equation was compared to those of Thurnau and Shepard in 34 additional fetuses of diabetic gravid women. The data suggest that in these fetuses suspected of being large for gestational age the weight estimates calculated at or near term may be enhanced if predictive equations are formulated specifically from the data for such fetuses.