[A study of the treatment for intrauterine growth retardation (author's transl)]

We studied about the effects of glucose and amino acid on the fetal weight gain for intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR). Twenty women were diagnosed as IUGR at 30 weeks of gestation. Nine patients were hospitalized and were given 500 ml 10% glucose and 200 ml 12% amino acid intravenously everyday until her delivery (treated group, T group). Other 11 were given no treatment (non-treated group, NT group). The biparietal diameter of the newborn infant in each group was not significantly different. But the birth weight was significantly different (P less than 0.001) between T group (2996 +/- 92 g, Mean +/- SE) and NT group (2490 +/- 65 g). At the gestational weeks in each delivery, the ratio of the discrepancy between the birth weight and the average to the standard deviation (SD) at that weeks were -0.42 +/- 0.20 SD and -1.51 +/- 0.13 SD respectively (P less than 0.001). For the evaluation of the effect of the treatment, the ratio to the estimated fetal weight at the time of IUGR diagnosed was compared with the ratio to the birth weight. T group indicated -1.21 +/- 0.72 SD to -0.42 +/- 0.61 SD (P less than 0.01). NT group indicated -0.55 +/- 0.45 SD to -1.44 +/- 0.24 SD (not significantly). These data suggest that the treatment were apparently effective in increasing the fetal weight.