Prediction of intrauterine growth retardation by determination of total intrauterine volume.

Total intrauterine volume (TIUV) measurements were performed with ultrasound on 100 normal patients at different times in gestation, and a nomogram was constructed. Ninety-six patients at risk for intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) were then examined ultrasonically. Twenty-eight of the patients in this group delivered growth-retarded babies; in 21 of these cases the TIUV was in the abnormal zone (more than 1.5 S.D. below the mean for gestational age as determined by biparietal diameter). In the remaining seven growth-retarded cases, the TIUV was in the gray zone (between 1 and 1.5 S.D. below the mean). Although 15 normal cases were in the gray zone, there was none in the abnormal zone. There were no abnormal cases in the normal zone. An explanation for the overlap in the gray zone is offered. These results strongly suggest that TIUV is an accurate predictor of IUGR.