Hata Toshiyuki, Kuno Atsushi, Dai Shu-Yan, Inubashiri Eisuke, Hanaoka Uiko, Kanenishi Kenji, Yamashiro Chizu, Tanaka Hirokazu, Yanagihara Toshihiro
Department of Perinatology and Gynecology, Kagawa University School of Medicine, Kagawa, Japan.
J Obstet Gynaecol Res. 2007 Oct;33(5):600-5. doi: 10.1111/j.1447-0756.2007.00618.x.
The objective of this longitudinal study was to evaluate the growth of the fetal spleen in normal pregnancies, using three-dimensional ultrasound.
Three-dimensional sonographic examinations were performed on 14 appropriate-for-gestational-age fetuses. Fetal splenic volume was measured every 2-3 weeks after 20 weeks of gestational age until delivery.
Curvilinear relationships were found between the gestational age and splenic volume (R(2) = 80.2%, P < 0.0001), and normal ranges of splenic volume measurements for estimating the growth of the fetal spleen during normal pregnancy were generated. We found that the splenic volume calculation based on the equation for the volume of the ellipsoid by conventional two-dimensional ultrasound in previous investigations is about twice as large as that using three-dimensional ultrasound in our study, whereas the present data described in this study is quite comparable with previous data from an autopsy series.
Our findings suggest that the standard curve for the fetal splenic volume using three-dimensional ultrasound provides a superior means for evaluating the normal splenic growth in the fetus and for identifying splenic abnormalities in utero. However, the data and its interpretation in our study should be taken with some degree of caution because of the small number of subjects studied. Further studies involving a larger sample size would be needed to confirm these findings.
本纵向研究的目的是使用三维超声评估正常妊娠中胎儿脾脏的生长情况。
对14例适于胎龄的胎儿进行三维超声检查。在孕20周后每2 - 3周测量一次胎儿脾脏体积，直至分娩。
发现胎龄与脾脏体积之间存在曲线关系（R² = 80.2%，P < 0.0001），并得出了正常妊娠期间评估胎儿脾脏生长的脾脏体积测量正常范围。我们发现，以往研究中基于传统二维超声椭圆体体积公式计算的脾脏体积约为我们研究中使用三维超声计算值的两倍，而本研究中描述的当前数据与先前尸检系列的数据相当。
我们的研究结果表明，使用三维超声得出的胎儿脾脏体积标准曲线为评估胎儿脾脏正常生长及识别子宫内脾脏异常提供了一种更好的方法。然而，由于本研究的受试者数量较少，我们研究中的数据及其解释应谨慎对待。需要进一步开展样本量更大的研究来证实这些发现。
