Fetal growth retardation Archives - Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia

PURPOSE: to diagnose intrauterine growth restriction (IGR) and its connection with early neonatal morbidity and mortality, through Roher's ponderal index (PI). METHODS: this was a retrospective, descriptive study of transversal cohort, in which 2741 newborns (NB) were included, 2053 of them from healthy pregnant women, 228 from women with mild pregnancy-related hypertension, 52 from those with severe pregnancy-related hypertension, 25 from those with mild pregnancy-related hypertension that evolved to eclampsia, 136 from those with premature membrane rupture, and 247 from women who smoked along gestation. Roher's PI was calculated by the equation: PI = weight/height ³ x 100 and the values 2.25 and 3.10 of Lubchenco's 10 and 90 percentiles were used to classify the types of IGR. IGR was classified as asymmetric for NB with PI < 2.25 and weight lower than percentile 10, as symmetric, with PI from 2.25 to 3.10 and weight lower than percentile 10, and adequate for gestational age with PI from 2.25 to 3.10, and weight from 10 to 90 percentiles. Statistical analysis was performed using the non-paired t test, the non-parametric chi2 test and Fisher's exact test, with significance set at a value of p<0.05. RESULTS: low birth weight (< 2,500 g) was present in 3.6% (100/2741) of the cases, while the rate of IGR diagnosed through PI was 15.7% (430/2741), 14.0% being asymmetric and 1.7% symmetric. The most frequent complication among the asymmetric IGRNB was transient tachypnea (8.3%), followed by asphyxia (5.7%) and infection (2.6%). Transient tachypnea was present in 6.5% of symmetric IGRNB, followed by asphyxia (4.3%), meconium aspiration syndrome (2.2%), hypoglycemia (2.2%) and infection (2.2%). Early neonatal death was similar for NB with restricted IGR and adequate IGR for gestational age, both groups reaching a rate of 0.3%. CONCLUSIONS: Rohrer's PI was able to diagnose the different IGR patterns, which would not be known if the birth weight had been calculated in terms of gestational age. The asymmetric NB presented a higher incidence of transient tachypnea and asphyxia, without statistical significance in relation the other IGR patterns. The frequency of early neonatal death was similar for the asymmetric and adequate for gestational age NB groups.