Objective: To determine whether the assessment of umbilical cord diameter (UCD) is a viable indicator of fetal growth and perinatal outcome. Material and Methods: A total of 652 singleton pregnancies between 10 and 40 weeks of gestation were reviewed for this study. The UCD was measured vertically in the longitudinal section, adjacent to its insertion at the fetal abdomen. Other fetal biometrics were measured according to standard measurement protocols. The perinatal outcome of each patient case was also recorded. Result: The UCD ranged between 0.73 and 1.68 cm, and correlated positively with gestational age, estimated fetal weight ( r = 0.779, r = 0.639, P < .05), and other fetal biometrics. The UCD of 50 subjects was 2 standard deviations below the mean and correlated significantly ( r = 0.712, P < .05) with poor fetal outcome in the first and second trimester. Observational studies of 50 subjects, whose UCD was 2 standard deviations below the mean, resulted in 21 cases of intrauterine fetal death, 10 cases of preeclampsia, 8 cases of oligohydramnios, and 11 cases of intrauterine growth restriction. Conclusion: The UCD has the potential to serve as an important indicator of fetal growth, well-being, and perinatal outcome.
Objective:
Physicians who often request for computed tomography (CT) scan examinations are expected to have sound knowledge of radiation exposure (risks) to patients in line with the basic radiation protection principles according to the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), the Protection of Persons Undergoing Medical Exposure or Treatment (POPUMET), and the Ionizing Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations (IR(ME)R). The aim is to assess the level of requesting physicians’ knowledge of ionizing radiation from CT scan examinations in two Nigerian tertiary hospitals.
Materials and Methods:
An 18-item-based questionnaire was distributed to 141 practicing medical doctors, excluding radiologists with work experience from 0 to >16 years in two major teaching hospitals in Nigeria with a return rate of 69%, using a voluntary sampling technique.
Results:
The results showed that 25% of the respondents identified CT thorax, abdomen, and pelvis examination as having the highest radiation risk, while 22% said that it was a conventional chest X-ray. Furthermore, 14% concluded that CT head had the highest risk while 9% gave their answer to be conventional abdominal X-ray. In addition, 17% inferred that magnetic resonance imaging had the highest radiation risk while 11% had no idea. Furthermore, 25.5% of the respondents have had training on ionizing radiation from CT scan examinations while 74.5% had no training. Majority (90%) of the respondents were not aware of the ICRP guidelines for requesting investigations with very little (<3%) or no knowledge (0%) on the POPUMET and the IR(ME)R respectively.
Conclusion:
There is low level of knowledge of ionizing radiation from CT scan examinations among requesting physicians in the study locations.
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