Comparison of different methods in sonographic estimation of fetal weight in diabetic pregnant women on insulin therapy

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of the study to compare the accuracy ofdifferent ultrasonographic weight estimating equations forpredicting the fetal weight in pregnant patients on insulintherapy.Design: Prospective clinical studySetting: Erciyes University Obstetric Clinic PerinatologyUnit, TurkeySubjects: One hundred and eleven diabetic pregnant womenusing insulinIntervention(s): The fetal weight estimations were calculatedoff-line using the two previously investigated methods(Hadlock 1 and Shepard) and abdominal circumference(AC).Main outcome measure(s): The accuracy of different weightestimating equations for predicting fetal weight in pregnantpatients on insulin therapyResults: Hadlock 1 and Shepard methods had estimated fetalweight values close to the actual birth weight whereas AChad not. The success rates and the sensitivity of the methodsfor detecting macrosomic fetuses weighing over 4000 g ininsulin using diabetic women were low and the rates were0.65 (95% CI: 0.40-0.84), 0.13 (95% CI: 0.01-0.40) and 0.55 (95%CI: 0.31-0.76), for the Hadlock 1, AC and Shepard formulaerespectively (P&lt;.05).Conclusion(s): The study showed that Hadlock 1 and Shepardmethods were significantly better for estimating fetal weightthan AC. The success rates of the methods for detectingmacrosomic fetuses weighing over 4000 g were similar, butthe methods did not have high sensitivity.</p