Sonographic Measurement of Liver Size in Adult Zambian at the Copperbelt University Micheal Chilufya Sata School of Medicine

Abstract

Background: Knowledge of the normal measurements of the organs is important in detecting alteration in the size of these organs that may be due to disease. Ultrasound is a useful, most widely utilized, economical, quick, widely available and safest imaging tool in the assessment and measurement of liver, spleen and kidneys. However, according to our knowledge, no similar study has been conducted among health medical students at a public university in Zambia.

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the normal liver measurement by ultrasound, in healthy medical students at Copperbelt University, Michael Sata Chilufya, School of Medicine (CBU, MCS-SOM).

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study involving 193 randomly selected healthy medical students at CBU, MCS-SOM aged 18 years and above was conducted February to June 2018. Pre tested tools were used to collect data. Ethical Considerations were adhered to. Ultrasound Philips DH3, 3.5 MHZ sector probe and Sony printer were used to collect data. Correlation coefficients analysis were done using SPSS version 21 computer software. Results: Overall, 193 participated in the study. Liver length ranged between 11 and 17 centimetres. The mean liver size was13.10 cm (SD±1.06 to 2.7). Most (36.8%) of the participants had liver size between 13-13.9 cm. The body Mass Index (BMI) was in the range from 17 to 39 kg/m2, with the majority (57%) participants in the 18.5 to 24.9 Kg/m2.  Conclusion and Recommendation: Our study has shown that only BMI of 25 or more was statistically independently associated with larger liver size. We recommend a further study with larger sample size and an increase in age in order to generalise the findings.