Ultrasound evaluation of the distal femoral epiphyseal ossification center as a screening test for intrauterine growth retardation.

In a heterogeneous group of 226 pregnant women, a retrospective study was done of the relation between the distal femoral epiphyseal ossification center detected by ultrasound and the birth weights of the infants. The ossification center of the femur was detectable in 202 of the 208 infants appropriate for gestational age; it was undetectable in 15 of the 18 infants small for gestational age. Because our results compared favorably with those reached by more complicated methods in the literature, we propose that the distal femoral epiphyseal ossification center be used as a screening test for intrauterine growth retardation.