Journal of South Asian Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecology

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VOLUME 16 , ISSUE 5 ( September-October, 2024 ) > List of Articles

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Ultrasonographic Assessment of Fetal Adrenal Gland Volume and Cervical Length in Term and Preterm Birth: A Comparative Prospective Observational Study

Piyali Das, Dibyendu Roy, Satarupa Roy, Debanjan Sinha, Partha P Sharma, Shyamapada Pati

Keywords : Cervical length, Fetal adrenal gland volume, Term and preterm birth, 2D ultrasonography

Citation Information : Das P, Roy D, Roy S, Sinha D, Sharma PP, Pati S. Ultrasonographic Assessment of Fetal Adrenal Gland Volume and Cervical Length in Term and Preterm Birth: A Comparative Prospective Observational Study. J South Asian Feder Obs Gynae 2024; 16 (5):486-490.

DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10006-2526

License: CC BY-NC 4.0

Published Online: 23-10-2024

Copyright Statement:  Copyright © 2024; The Author(s).


Abstract

Background: Preterm birth (PTB) is a known cause of perinatal complications in modern obstetrics. The exact etiology of PTB is not known. The present study will be focused to identify the association of ultrasonography findings of fetal adrenal gland volume and the relation with the cervical length (CL) in both preterm and term birth. Aim: To evaluate the role of adrenal gland volume of the fetus and CL for prediction of both preterm and term labor by comparing the observed values. This study also tried to find out the cut-off value of these two parameters to determine PTB. Materials and methods: This comparative cross-sectional observational study included 30 preterm pregnant mothers at 280//7-366/7 weeks of gestation and thirty term pregnant mothers at ≥37 weeks of gestation with the clinical diagnosis of labor. All the mothers enrolled in this study underwent trans-abdominal ultrasonography followed by calculation of corrected fetal adrenal gland volume (cFAGV), based on adrenal gland dimension and estimated fetal weight and data were then compared by receiver operator characteristic curve analysis. Results: Preterm mothers had significantly higher cFAGV than term (449.31 ± 64 mm3/kg vs 347.46 ± 58 mm3/kg; p <0.001) with a cut-off 421 mm3/kg with 90% sensitivity and 90% specificity. The difference in CL in both the groups was also significant (mean value 2.36 cm ± 0.26 in preterm mothers vs 3.25 cm ± 0.51 in term mothers; p <0.001) while the cut-off value was found as 2.75 cm with 86.7% sensitivity and 90% specificity. Conclusion: Hence, PTB can now be predicted with the help of ultrasonography-based fetal adrenal gland volume as well as CL estimation which is a non-invasive, cost-effective marker in clinical practice. Clinical significance: Ultrasonographic value of both fetal adrenal gland volume and CL can predict PTB in a more precise way to plan for better obstetric care.


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