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. 2018 Sep:69:82-85.
doi: 10.1016/j.placenta.2018.07.013. Epub 2018 Jul 27.

Comparison of diameter-based and image-based measures of surface area from gross placental pathology for use in epidemiologic studies

Alexa A Freedman  1 , Lauren M Kipling  2 , Katie Labgold  2 , Carmen J Marsit  3 , Carol J Hogue  2 , Augustine Rajakumar  4 , Alicia K Smith  4 , Halit Pinar  5 , Deborah L Conway  6 , Radek Bukowski  7 , Michael W Varner  8 , Robert L Goldenberg  9 , Donald J Dudley  10 , Carolyn Drews-Botsch  2
Affiliations

Comparison of diameter-based and image-based measures of surface area from gross placental pathology for use in epidemiologic studies

Alexa A Freedman et al. Placenta. 2018 Sep.

Abstract

Placental surface area is often estimated using diameter measurements. However, as many placentas are not elliptical, we were interested in the validity of these estimates. We compared placental surface area from images for 491 singletons from the Stillbirth Collaborative Research Network (SCRN) Study (416 live births, 75 stillbirths) to estimates obtained using diameter measurements. Placental images and diameters were obtained from pathologic assessments conducted for the SCRN Study and images were analyzed using ImageJ software. On average, diameter-based measures underestimated surface area by -5.58% (95% confidence interval: -30.23, 19.07); results were consistent for normal and abnormal shapes. The association between surface area and birthweight was similar for both measures. Thus, diameter-based surface area can be used to estimate placental surface area.

Keywords: Assumption; Placental surface area; Validation.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Results for agreement between image-based and diameter-based measures for the total sample (n=491). Abbreviations: CI – confidence interval
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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