Correlation between Fetal Kidney Length and Gestational Age among Pregnant Women Attending Image Diagnostic Centre, Port-Harcourt, Nigeria

Background: The obstetric management of a pregnancy depends on the knowledge of an accurate gestational age particularly in unregistered case.

Aim: The aim of the study is determine how accurately fetal kidney length (FKL) could estimate gestational age (GA) using ultrasonography.

Materials and Methods: The study involved 200 participants with 20 to 40 weeks pregnancies, referred to the Radiology Department of Image Diagnostic Center, Rumuola Port Harcourt for obstetric ultrasound scan, within a three-month period. The left and right fetal kidney lengths were measured and data obtained were analyzed using SPSS version 23.0. Linear regression equations were deduced.

Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the measurements of the right and left kidneys. There was a strong positive correlation between gestational age (GA) and right kidney length (RKL) (r = .998, p < 0.01) and left kidney length (LKL) (r = .998, p < 0.01). Regression formulae used for predicting GA using right and left FKL was 9.9494(RKL) + 0.3058, and 9.9404(LKL) + 0.3468, respectively.

Conclusion: FKL proved to be a reliable predictor of gestational age of pregnancies in the second and third trimesters.