Use of femur length/abdominal circumference ratio in detecting the macrosomic fetus.

Abstract

The femur length/abdominal circumference ratio, expressed as FL/AC .times. 100, was determined in 156 fetuses and was evaluated as a predictor of fetal macrosomia within 1 wk prior to delivery. The normal range (mean .+-. 2 SD) in the 105 normal-weight fetuses was 22.0 .+-. 2, while the normal range in the 51 macrosomic fetuses was 20.5 .+-. 2; these differences were highly significant (P = < .0001). The predictive power of a positive ratio was 68%, with a sensitivity of 63%. This ratio was particularly useful in the subset (n = 9) of macrosomic fetuses whose mothers were diabetic, correctly identifying 89% of this group. Because it is age independent, this ratio should prove most helpful in identifying fetuses at risk for macrosomia in patients whose dates are not known, since it may become abnormal before the fetal weight falls above the 90th percentile at term (3900 g). In patients whose dates are known, early fetal macrosomia is best predicted by evaluating the abdominal circumference against normal standards for age.