Standard Normal Fetal Lung Volume by MRI Measurement

Pulmonary hypoplasia is a significant decrease in lung volume by any cause in comparison to the normal volume for gestational age.

To evaluate the application of prenatal magnetic resonance imaging in order to predict pulmonary hypoplasia, measurement of fetal lung volume (FLV) was aimed to establish a reference data in normal fetuses. Patients and

Three hundred forty two fetuses with abnormal ultrasound findings underwent fast spin-echo T2-weighted MR imaging at a single tertiary care hospital (Shahid Faghihi Hospital, Shiraz, Iran). Data of 241 fetuses at 18 - 36 weeks’ gestation without thoracic malformations were obtained for a FLV normative curve. To acquire a best-fit formula for the mean total fetal lung volume based on each gestational week with 95% confidence interval (CI), we used the regression model applied by Rypens et al. This resulted in a formula calculating the expected fetal lung volume based on gestational age. A one-sample t-test was also carried out to compare the mean total fetal lung volume at each gestational week with the expected mean total fetal lung volume predicted by the formula by Rypens et al., Meyers et al., and Osada et al.

Normal FLV increased with gestational age as the spread of values. The expected fetal lung volume was derived from the following formula: Fetal lung volume (mL) = 0.002×(gestational age [GA]2.913), in which GA is gestational weeks. FLV in our population had a more consistent correlation with Japanese fetuses than European or American fetuses.

In fetuses with normal lungs, FLV distribution against gestational age is simply measured prenatally with MR imaging. A single universal formula might not be suitable for fetuses worldwide. In our region, acquired data were more consistent with Asian normal values.