Abstract

Dr. Mahnaz Gondal*, Dr. Amna Ahsan, Dr. Tayyaba Tahira, Dr. Saira Fayyaz, Dr. Rabia Wajid,
Dr. Hina Munir and Dr. Rabia Javed

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The determination of exact gestational age (GA) has been a challenge for managing obstetricians always. It has gained importance in managing pregnancies with different risk factors. Fetal kidney length together with routine fetal biometric parameters can help in predicting gestational age in a precise manner. The purpose of this study was to determine the ultrasonographic mean fetal renal length at different stages of gestation and find its correlation with maternal age, BMI and parity in female population presenting at a teaching hospital in Punjab. MATERIAL AND METHODS: It was a six months observational descriptive case series carried out in Gynecology Unit-IV, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, and Lahore from August 8, 2019 till Feb 8, 2020. Two hundred women presenting to the Outdoor of Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Lahore were enrolled into this study after fulfilling the inclusion criteria. Detailed history was taken from the patients who consented to participate in the study. The pregnant females underwent ultrasonographic assessment and the fetal kidney length was measured for both kidneys. Mean of the two lengths was calculated and noted into the specially designed proforma along with gestational age and demographic details. All the ultrasonographic measurements were performed by a single radiologist on a single machine to eliminate bias. The collected data was analyzed by SPSS version 20. P- Value of ? 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. RESULTS: The patients’ mean age was 26.24 ± 5.53 years. At 24th week the mean length of left kidney, right kidney and overall length of kidney were 30.45 ± 0.26 mm, 30.49 ±0.29 mm and 30.47 ± 0.27 mm respectively. At 28th week the mean length of left kidney, right kidney and overall length of kidney were 35.09 ± 0.58mm, 35.62 ± 0.87 mm and 35.35 ± 0.72 mm respectively. At 32nd week the mean length of left kidney, right kidney and overall length of kidney were 35.72 ±0.40 mm, 36.25±0.79mm and 35.99 ±0.66 mm respectively. At 36th week the mean length of left kidney, right kidney and overall length of kidney were 41.51 ± 0.27 mm, 41.56 ± 0.32 mm and 41.53 ± 0.31 mm respectively. A p -value of 0.05 was obtained when the fetal kidney lengths were correlated with age, parity and BMI of the female. CONCLUSION: This study reached to the conclusion that the length of kidney increased as the gestational age advanced. No statistical correlation of fetal kidney length with maternal age, BMI and parity was seen in female population presenting at a teaching hospital in Punjab. So, prediction of fetal gestational age can be done in a better manner complimenting fetal kidney length with other routine parameters.