Sonograhpic Measurement of Placental Thickness as a Predictor of Birth Weight -A Validation Study-

Abstract

The current study results showed a significant positive correlation between placental thickness and actual birth weight (rs=0.413, p<0.001). The correlation coefficients for the EFW using the Hadlock’s 2 formula without and with adjustment to placental thickness were both high and significant [0.733 (p<0.001) and 0.749 (p<0.001), respectively]; with the latter being slightly higher than the former. The corresponding R2 were 0.567 and 0.598, respectively; which showed that adjustment of the Hadlock’s 2 formula to placental thickness raised the measure of goodness-of-fit by almost 3%. The added predictability of adjusting the Hadlock’s 2 formula to placental thickness in prediction of both macrosomia and low birth weight was slight. The corresponding areas under the ROC curves were 0.935 vs. 0.929; and 0.931 vs. 915, respectively.