Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Ultrasound dating at 12-14 weeks of gestation. A prospective cross-validation of established dating formulae in in-vitro fertilized pregnancies.

Sladkevicius, Povilas LU orcid ; Saltvedt, S ; Almström, H ; Kublickas, M ; Grunewald, C and Valentin, Lil LU orcid (2005) In Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology 26(5). p.504-511
Abstract
Objectives

To determine the accuracy of established ultrasound dating formulae when used at 12-14 weeks of gestation.



Methods

One-hundred and sixty-seven singleton pregnancies conceived after in-vitro fertilization (IVF) underwent a dating scan at 12-14 weeks of gestation. Gestational age at the dating scan was calculated by adding 14 days to the number of days between the date of oocyte retrieval and the date of the ultrasound scan. Gestational age according to oocyte retrieval was regarded as the true gestational age. True gestational age was compared to gestational age calculated on the basis of 21 dating formulae based on fetal crown-rump length (CRL) measurements and to three dating formulae based... (More)
Objectives

To determine the accuracy of established ultrasound dating formulae when used at 12-14 weeks of gestation.



Methods

One-hundred and sixty-seven singleton pregnancies conceived after in-vitro fertilization (IVF) underwent a dating scan at 12-14 weeks of gestation. Gestational age at the dating scan was calculated by adding 14 days to the number of days between the date of oocyte retrieval and the date of the ultrasound scan. Gestational age according to oocyte retrieval was regarded as the true gestational age. True gestational age was compared to gestational age calculated on the basis of 21 dating formulae based on fetal crown-rump length (CRL) measurements and to three dating formulae based on fetal biparietal diameter (BPD) measurements. In a previous study the three BPD formulae tested here had been shown to be superior to four other BPD formulae when used at 12-14 weeks of gestation. The mean of the differences between estimated and true gestational age and their standard deviation (SD) were calculated for each formula. The SD of the differences was assumed to reflect random measurement error. Systematic measurement error was assumed to exist if zero lay outside the mean difference ± 2SE (SE: standard error of the mean).



Results

The three best CRL formulae were associated with mean (non-systematic) measurement errors of -0.0, -0.1 and -0.3 days, and the SD of the measurement errors of these formulae varied from 2.37 to 2.45. All but two of the remaining CRL formulae were associated with systematic over- or under-estimation of gestational age, and the SDs of their measurement error varied between 2.25 and 4.86 days. Dating formulae using BPD systematically underestimated gestational age by -0.4 to -0.7 days, and the SDs of their measurement errors varied from 1.86 to 2.09.



Conclusions

We have identified three BPD formulae that are suitable for dating at 12-14 weeks of gestation. They are superior to all 21 CRL formulae tested here, because their random measurement errors were much smaller than those of the three best CRL formulae. The small systematic negative measurement errors associated with the BPD formulae are likely to be clinically unimportant. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
biparietal diameter, crown-rump length, dating formulae, fetal ultrasonography, fetometry, gestational age, ultrasound
in
Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology
volume
26
issue
5
pages
504 - 511
publisher
John Wiley & Sons Inc.
external identifiers
  • wos:000232734400006
  • pmid:16149101
  • scopus:27744549297
ISSN
1469-0705
DOI
10.1002/uog.1993
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
3d66c1b7-6b88-4d19-95a7-a8d77b68195c (old id 143791)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 15:17:06
date last changed
2022-04-06 22:19:29
@article{3d66c1b7-6b88-4d19-95a7-a8d77b68195c,
  abstract     = {{Objectives<br/><br>
To determine the accuracy of established ultrasound dating formulae when used at 12-14 weeks of gestation.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
Methods<br/><br>
One-hundred and sixty-seven singleton pregnancies conceived after in-vitro fertilization (IVF) underwent a dating scan at 12-14 weeks of gestation. Gestational age at the dating scan was calculated by adding 14 days to the number of days between the date of oocyte retrieval and the date of the ultrasound scan. Gestational age according to oocyte retrieval was regarded as the true gestational age. True gestational age was compared to gestational age calculated on the basis of 21 dating formulae based on fetal crown-rump length (CRL) measurements and to three dating formulae based on fetal biparietal diameter (BPD) measurements. In a previous study the three BPD formulae tested here had been shown to be superior to four other BPD formulae when used at 12-14 weeks of gestation. The mean of the differences between estimated and true gestational age and their standard deviation (SD) were calculated for each formula. The SD of the differences was assumed to reflect random measurement error. Systematic measurement error was assumed to exist if zero lay outside the mean difference ± 2SE (SE: standard error of the mean).<br/><br>
<br/><br>
Results<br/><br>
The three best CRL formulae were associated with mean (non-systematic) measurement errors of -0.0, -0.1 and -0.3 days, and the SD of the measurement errors of these formulae varied from 2.37 to 2.45. All but two of the remaining CRL formulae were associated with systematic over- or under-estimation of gestational age, and the SDs of their measurement error varied between 2.25 and 4.86 days. Dating formulae using BPD systematically underestimated gestational age by -0.4 to -0.7 days, and the SDs of their measurement errors varied from 1.86 to 2.09.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
Conclusions<br/><br>
We have identified three BPD formulae that are suitable for dating at 12-14 weeks of gestation. They are superior to all 21 CRL formulae tested here, because their random measurement errors were much smaller than those of the three best CRL formulae. The small systematic negative measurement errors associated with the BPD formulae are likely to be clinically unimportant.}},
  author       = {{Sladkevicius, Povilas and Saltvedt, S and Almström, H and Kublickas, M and Grunewald, C and Valentin, Lil}},
  issn         = {{1469-0705}},
  keywords     = {{biparietal diameter; crown-rump length; dating formulae; fetal ultrasonography; fetometry; gestational age; ultrasound}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{5}},
  pages        = {{504--511}},
  publisher    = {{John Wiley & Sons Inc.}},
  series       = {{Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology}},
  title        = {{Ultrasound dating at 12-14 weeks of gestation. A prospective cross-validation of established dating formulae in in-vitro fertilized pregnancies.}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/4358961/624980.pdf}},
  doi          = {{10.1002/uog.1993}},
  volume       = {{26}},
  year         = {{2005}},
}