[Bone maturation in the fetus and newborn infant]

Area of Science:

• Radiological assessment of fetal development
• Skeletal maturation and ossification centers
• Gestational age estimation in neonates

Context:

• Accurate determination of fetal age is crucial for clinical management and assessing neonatal outcomes.
• Existing methods for estimating fetal age have limitations, particularly in cases of intrauterine growth restriction.
• Radiographic assessment provides an objective measure of skeletal development.

Purpose:

• To establish a reliable
• bone age
• scale for fetuses between 28 and 42 weeks of gestation using X-ray analysis.
• To evaluate the efficacy of this bone age scale as an indicator of gestational age compared to weight and length.
• To explore the utility of radiographic methods in assessing fetal growth and the impact of nutritional factors.

Summary:

• A bone age scale was developed using X-ray films of 994 infants, including 245 hypotrophic newborns, analyzing ossification centers in the ankle and knee.
• The study established theoretical scales with percentile curves and combined data for boys and girls, noting advanced bone age in females.
• Comparison with hypotrophic newborns suggests bone age is more resistant to malnutrition than weight or length, offering an objective measure for fetal age determination and growth monitoring.

Impact:

• This radiographic bone age scale provides an objective and reproducible method for estimating fetal age.
• It demonstrates greater resilience to malnutrition compared to traditional anthropometric measurements.
• The method facilitates longitudinal growth monitoring and investigation into nutritional influences on fetal development.