ULTRASONOGRAPHIC CRITERIA FOR MEASUREMENT OF NORMAL BPD AT DIFFERENT GESTATIONAL AGES

Abstract

Purpose of study To produce a research based document that can be used as an ultrasound criteria for the measurement of normal B.P.D at different gestational ages.

Materials and Methods The study was conducted on 100 normal women during 2nd and 3rd trimester at Afro- Asian Institute of Medical Sciences Lahore Pakistan. Duration of study was from march 2006- Jan 2007. Ultrasound was done by Nemio 20 and Honda Hs 2000, with convex probe 3.5-5.0 Mhz. Gestational age assessment done by measuring B.P.D in mm.

Results Gestational age assessment done by B.P.D measurement early in the second trimester is more accurate than the measurement done later in the 2nd or 3rd trimester.

Conclusion Gestation age assessment by ultrasound is most accurate during first trimester. B.P.D remains the standard against which other parameters of gestational age assessment are compared. Multiple parameters have been shown to improve the accuracy of gestational age assessment, i.e BPD, HC, AC, FL Instead of single one.