Growth curves derıved from ultrasonographıc fetal parameters ın a turkısh populatıon

In this longitudinal study, ultrasonographically measured fetal biparietal diameter (BPD), femur length (FL), head circumference (HC), abdominal circumference (AC), humerus length (HL), biocular diameter (BOD) and for the control of BPD measurements cephalic index (Cl) were evaluated in relation to menstrual age in 30 normal fetuses. The results indicated a high degree of positive correlation between the measurements and gestational age. When compared to other data, BPD, FL, HL and BOD growth curves were in good agreement with the growth curves presented in other studies, and were in normal confidence limits. The HC and AC growth curves were in agreement in the 1st and 2nd trimesters, yielding very similar results, but in the 3rd trimester the differences increased gradually nearing term, the values remaining in the lower confidence limits. The differences in the growth curves may result from different population studies, genetic variations or from technical errors. It is concluded that, in the evaluation of fetal growth in-utero, utilization of multiple parameters give more reliable results. Considering the different results in the tables presented by various authors, we believe that it would be appropriate to establish new nomograms which will represent Turkish population better, hoping that this preliminary study will initiate interest in this field.