Abstract:
BACKGROUND: Fetal growth restriction (FGR), defined as a fetus failing to reach its genetic growth potential,
remains poorly diagnosed antenatally. This study aimed to assess the ability of continuouswave Doppler ultrasound of the umbilical artery (CWD-UmA) to detect FGR in healthy
women with low-risk pregnancies.
METHODS AND FINDINGS: This prospective longitudinal descriptive cohort study enrolled infants born to low-risk mothers who were screened with CWD-UmA between 28–34 weeks’ gestation; the resistance
index (RI) was classified as normal or abnormal. Infants were assessed at 6, 10, 14 weeks,
and 6 months postnatally for anthropometric indicators and body composition using the deuterium dilution method to assess fat-free mass (FFM). Neonates in the abnormal RI group
were compared with those in the normal RI group, and neonates classified as small-for-gestational age (SGA) were compared with appropriate-for-gestational age (AGA) neonates.
Eighty-one term infants were included. Only 6 of 26 infants (23.1%) with an abnormal RI
value would have been classified as SGA. The abnormal RI group had significantly reduced
mean FFM and FFM-for-age Z-scores at 6, 10, 14 weeks, and 6 months compared with the
normal RI group (P<0.015). The SGA group’s FFM did not show this consistent trend when
compared to AGA FFM, being significantly different only at 6 months (P = 0.039).
The main limitation of the study was the small sample size of the infant follow-up.
CONCLUSIONS: Abnormal RI obtained from CWD-UmA is able to detect FGR and is considered a useful
addition to classifying the neonate only by SGA or AGA at birth.
