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Published on: June 29, 2013
[Is uterine height able to diagnose amniotic fluid volume deviations?].
Djacyr Magna Cabral Freire1, José Guilherme Cecatti, Cláudio Sérgio Medeiros Paiva
1Escola Técnica em Saúde, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, João Pessoa, PB, Brasil.
Summary
Fundal height (FH) measurement poorly predicts oligohydramnios but reasonably predicts polyhydramnios in pregnant women. This screening method is best used when ultrasound is unavailable for amniotic fluid volume assessment.
Area of Science:
- Obstetrics and Gynecology
- Maternal-Fetal Medicine
- Diagnostic Imaging
Context:
- Prenatal care in Brazil involves assessing fetal well-being.
- Amniotic fluid volume is crucial for fetal development and can indicate complications.
- Fundal height (FH) measurement is a common, non-invasive screening tool.
Purpose:
- To evaluate the diagnostic performance of a Brazilian reference curve for fundal height (FH) in screening for abnormal amniotic fluid volumes.
- To compare FH screening against the amniotic fluid index (AFI) as the gold standard.
Summary:
- A cross-sectional study of 753 pregnant women assessed FH and AFI.
- Fundal height measurement showed low sensitivity for detecting oligohydramnios (28-37%) but reasonable sensitivity for polyhydramnios (69-88%).
- The study utilized Brazilian reference curves for both FH and AFI.
Impact:
- Fundal height measurement demonstrates limited utility for screening oligohydramnios.
- FH measurement offers reasonable screening for polyhydramnios, particularly in resource-limited settings.
- Findings support the use of FH as a preliminary screening tool when ultrasound access is restricted.
