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Association of midtrimester short femur and short humerus with fetal growth restriction
Author(s) -
Carvalho Ana Alice Vidal,
Carvalho José Antônio,
Figueiredo Israel,
Velarde Luis Guillermo Coca,
Marchiori Edson
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
prenatal diagnosis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.956
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1097-0223
pISSN - 0197-3851
DOI - 10.1002/pd.4020
Subject(s) - medicine , humerus , femur , fetus , intrauterine growth restriction , gestational age , odds ratio , confidence interval , anatomy , obstetrics , pregnancy , surgery , biology , genetics
Objective To investigate the association between the midtrimester presence of short femur and short humerus and intrauterine growth restriction. Methods This retrospective study included ultrasound examinations of 1043 fetuses. Fetuses with normal‐length bones were compared with fetuses that had femoral or humeral lengths below the 5 th percentile for gestational age by Student's t ‐test and the chi‐squared test. The association between short bones and fetal growth restriction development was evaluated by Fisher's exact test. Fetuses with estimated weight below the 10 th percentile for gestational age and abnormal umbilical artery flow were considered to have growth restriction. Results Femoral and humeral lengths were normal in 974 (93.4%) fetuses; 19 (1.8%) fetuses had short femora, 65 (6.2%) had short humeri, and 15 (1.4%) had short femora and humeri combined. Of fetuses included in the analysis, 603 (57.8%) underwent Doppler examination. Short femur [odds ratio = 9.7, 95% confidence interval = 1.9–50.2, P = 0.03] and short humerus (odds ratio = 13, 95% confidence interval = 4.9–34.6, P < 0.001) were associated with fetal growth restriction. Conclusion Fetuses with midtrimester short femur, short humerus, or short femur and humerus combined require more intensive surveillance for growth restriction development. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.