Ultrasound Surveillance in Pregnancy Complicated by Diabetes
- Julie D.L. Dupak, MD, PhD and
- Angelina L. Trujillo, MD
Abstract
This article evaluates the clinical relevance of ultrasonography during pregnancy complicated by diabetes for fetal surveillance, assessment of diabetes impact, guidance of diabetes treatment, and obstetric management. Although ultrasound has improved, its effect on reduction of perinatal morbidity and mortality remains to be proven, and its use to detect large-for-gestational-age fetuses is unreliable. Clinical decisions based on birth weight prediction by sonography are often in error. Measurement of the insulin-sensitive fetal fat layer and fetal abdominal circumference may better reflect the impact of diabetes on the fetus.
Footnotes
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Julie D.L. Dupak, MD, PhD, is an obstetrician/gynecologist and visiting clinical researcher at the Sansum Diabetes Research Institute in Santa Barbara, Calif. Angelina L. Trujillo, MD, is an internal medicine and endocrinology specialist and a senior scientist at the same institution.
- American Diabetes Association
