The Observational Study of Sonographic Measurement of Splenic Dimensions and Correlation with Body Mass Index

Abstract

Background: The volume, size, and weight of abdominal organs bear potential significance. For instance, infectious, hematologic, or metabolic conditions may result in an increase in the size of the spleen. The aim of this study is to assess and document the splenic sizes in asymptomatic adults in a Northwest Ethiopia and to correlate with Body mass index (BMI). Methods: A cross-sectional prospective study design was performed at the University of Gondar, hospital. The sonographic measurements of spleen length, width, thickness and volume were performed on 380 subjects. In addition, weight and height of the subjects were measured using standard anthropometric technique. Body mass index was calculated. By Pearson’s product moment correlation coefficients, the relation of spleen dimensions to BMI was evaluated. Results: The body mass index had also statistically significant positive correlation with spleen dimension at p <0.05 (r=0.195, 0.176, for splenic length and width) and volume in females (r=0.236, P<0.001). In males body mass index of the subjects also had a statistically significant correlation with spleen length (r=0.218, p<0.01); nonetheless, there was no statistically significant correlation with width, thickness, and volume (r=0.024, 0.116 and 0.136, respectively).Conclusion: The positive correlation is found between the spleen parameters and BMI of both the genders in Ethiopian population which has both clinical and forensic importance. Keywords: Spleen dimensions, BMI, Ultra-sonography. Corresponding Author: Dr. Sanket Dadarao Hiware, Assistant professor, Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.