[Measurement Of Umbilical cord diameter On Ultrasound: An Indicator Of Fetal growth].

Introduction: One of the main goals of routine antenatal care is to identify mal developing fetuses and fetal ultrasound biometry parameters are used for this purpose. The objective of this study was to establish the norms of umbilical cord diameter (UCD) and to investigate its relationship with estimated fetal weight (EFW) and other fetal biometry parameters.

Populations and methods: This was a descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study with prospective data collection conducted in the radiology and medical imaging and gynaecological-obstetrics departments of Sokodé regional hospital. All pregnancies with a single fetus that appeared normal from the 11th week of pregnancy were included. Excel and R-4.2.2 software was used. A significance level of 5% was established for the statistical tests.

Results: A total of 256 pregnant women were recorded. The mean UCD in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd trimester was 4.07±0.99 mm; 9.69±2.65 mm and 15.36±2.08 mm respectively. There was a strong positive linear correlation between UCD and gestational age (r=0.87; p<0.00001) and between UCD and EFW (r=0.80; p<0.00001). The linear relationship between UCD and gestational age (GA) is expressed by the equation: GA= 1.605*UCD+ 6.235. Similarly, the linear relationship between UCD and EFW is expressed by the equation EFW= 207.854*UCD-1382.382. Fetal biometry parameters were strongly correlated with UCD (r≥0.81; p<0.00001).

Conclusion: Ultrasound measurement of umbilical cord diameter is a relatively simple technique to estimate gestational age and assess fetal growth.