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Accuracy of fetal weight estimation by ultrasound

Introduction: Fetal weight estimations are essential to identify and treat high-risk pregnancies. According to the Swedish association for obstetricians and gynecologists, the mean deviation of estimated weight from birth weight should be 0%, and the standard deviation 8%. Aim: To evaluate fetal weight estimations, by comparing the deviation from expected weight at the examination to at birth. Methods: Eight examiners were included from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Västerås Central Hospital. All singleton pregnancies with live births examined by these examiners from week 36+0, from January 1st to February 10th, 2022, were included, with a few exceptions. The deviations mentioned above were compared using a paired T-test. Mean and standard deviations were calculated for individual examiners. Midwives and doctors were compared using an independent T-test. Results: 86 examinations were included. There was a tendency to overestimate birth weight deviation by 1.0%, with a standard deviation of 7.8%. The differences between the deviation at the weight estimation and at birth, and between the professions, were not statistically significant. Both mean and standard deviation varied between individual examiners. Conclusions: The precision found in this study fell within what is considered acceptable according to the SFOG, and the mean did not differ statistically significantly from the recommended. Differences in fetal growth rate between examination and birth may have induced an error in the results, but the magnitude of that error cannot be determined. The study indicates differences between examiners, but a larger study is needed to draw any definite conclusions.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:oru-103517
Date January 2022
CreatorsAndersson, Hanna
PublisherÖrebro universitet, Institutionen för medicinska vetenskaper
Source SetsDiVA Archive at Upsalla University
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeStudent thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text
Formatapplication/pdf
Rightsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

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