Introduction: Ultrasound is a non-invasive
imaging modality, safe for both the mother and the fetus, which uses a high
frequency sound to generate images of body tissues and organs. It has been
widely used for fetal evaluation and dating.
Purpose: To determine normative values of
fetal heart circumference (FHC) as a predictor of the gestational age (GA) in
black population and compare it to those of the Caucasian population. Material and Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study
was carried at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), Nigeria. 324 women with a singleton pregnancy between 12-40 weeks, who conceived naturally,
were scanned using a 2D ultrasound machine with a 3.5 MHz curvilinear probe.
Two fetal heart diametersat right angle to each other were taken at the level of
the four-heart chamber view, during diastole.
Results: There is a strong positive linear
correlation between the FHC and the GA (r2= 0.964, p<0.001). The equation of
GA prediction is Y=0.246X + 5.06 (where y=GA, X=FHC). FHC weekly growth rate is
3.81mm. FHC is more accurate between 12-20 weeks GA and its accuracy decreases
as the pregnancy progresses. There is a strong correlation between FHC and
biparietal diameter (BPD) (r2=0.959), HC(r2=0.946) and FL (r2= 0.962).
Conclusion: The study has derived a nomogram of
FHC as a predictor of the GA in Nigerian population and has shown that the FHC
is a good predictor of GA especially in the early second trimester. Also, there
was a statistically significant difference between the FHC in our study population
(blacks) and those of the Caucasian population.
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