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Ultrasonographic assessment of fetal thyroid in Japan: thyroid circumference and distal femoral and proximal tibial ossification

  • Original Article–Obstetrics & Gynecology
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Abstract

Purpose

The present study established a nomogram of fetal thyroid circumference (FTC) and the appearance timing of fetal distal femoral and proximal tibial ossification to assess fetal thyroid function in Japan.

Methods

Between April 2015 and July 2019, normal pregnant women at our hospital were recruited for the study. FTC was measured by the automatic ellipse outline and plotted against gestational age (GA). Fetal distal femoral and proximal tibial ossification measurements were obtained with standard electronic calipers from outer-to-outer margins (> 1 mm as the presence of ossification).

Results

A total of 199 pregnant women were examined. FTC increased logarithmically to GA. A nomogram of FTC was expressed by a logarithmic formula: \({\ln}\left( {{\text{FTC}}} \right)\, = \,{\exp}\left( {{4}.{679}0{-}{3}0.{3961}/{\text{GA}}} \right)\). The respective 5–95th percentiles of FTC at each GA were 20.2–36.2 mm at 22 weeks, 25.0–44.8 mm at 26 weeks, 29.2–52.3 mm at 30 weeks, and 32.9–59.0 mm at 34 weeks. The fetal distal femoral epiphysis was not visualized before 30 weeks, but was visualized in 100% of fetuses after 35 weeks of gestation. The fetal proximal tibial epiphysis was not visualized before 33 weeks, but was visualized in 73.7% of fetuses at 37 weeks of gestation.

Conclusion

We generated a GA-dependent FTC nomogram for Japanese fetuses. We also confirmed the appearance timing of fetal distal femoral and proximal tibial ossification to assess bone maturation. These assessments may be very useful for evaluating fetal thyroid function in Japan.

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Acknowledgements

We thank our colleagues at our center for their cooperation. We thank Dr. C.A. Kolba of the Department of Education for Clinical Research of the National Center for Child Health and Development for his assistance with editing this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Maternal-Fetal, Neonatal and Reproductive Medicine, National Center for Child Health and Development, 2-10-1 Okura, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, 157-8535, Japan

    Satoru Funaki, Nagayoshi Umehara, Naoko Arata & Haruhiko Sago

  2. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan

    Satoru Funaki & Aikou Okamoto

  3. Division of General Allergy, Allergy Center, National Center for Child Health and Development, Tokyo, Japan

    Hidetoshi Mezawa

  4. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan

    Masamitsu Kurakazu

  5. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kochi University, Kochi, Japan

    Sachio Matsushima

Authors
  1. Satoru Funaki
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  2. Nagayoshi Umehara
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  3. Hidetoshi Mezawa
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  4. Masamitsu Kurakazu
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  5. Sachio Matsushima
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  6. Naoko Arata
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  7. Aikou Okamoto
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  8. Haruhiko Sago
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nagayoshi Umehara.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest in association with the present study.

Ethical statements

This study protocol was approved by the ethics committee at the National Center for Child Health and Development (no. 948).

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Funaki, S., Umehara, N., Mezawa, H. et al. Ultrasonographic assessment of fetal thyroid in Japan: thyroid circumference and distal femoral and proximal tibial ossification. J Med Ultrasonics 47, 603–608 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10396-020-01043-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10396-020-01043-5

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