Sonographic surveillance and perinatal outcomes among pregnancies with periviable fetal growth restriction

This study compared adverse perinatal outcomes between pregnancies complicated by periviable fetal growth restriction (pFGR) that underwent weekly sonographic surveillance vs. serial growth surveillance.

In this retrospective cohort study, pFGR was defined as a 22 0/7-27 6/7-week singleton, <500 g, and ≤10 % for gestational age. The surveillance group initiated weekly Doppler surveillance while the serial growth (SG) group underwent growth assessment every 3-4 weeks between 22 and 27 6/7 weeks. Adverse perinatal outcomes were compared.

Eighty-one (36.2 %) underwent weekly Doppler surveillance. Chronic hypertension (18.5 % vs. 9.1 %, p=0.04), a prior history of fetal demise (8.6 % vs. 2.1 %, p=0.02), and an estimated fetal weight <3 % (22.2 % vs. 10.5 %, p=0.02) and any abnormal umbilical artery Doppler pattern at diagnosis (25.8 % vs. 12.9 %, p=0.046) occurred more frequently in the weekly Doppler surveillance group than the SG group. Despite no difference in perinatal death, the surveillance group demonstrated a higher rate of obstetric (65.4 % vs. 42.7 %, p<0.05) and neonatal (60.8 % vs. 28.4 %, p<0.05) adverse outcome composites compared to the SG group.

The surveillance group experienced increased rates of obstetric and neonatal morbidity without difference in perinatal death though interpretation is limited by the observational nature of this study.