Sonographic Surveillance and Perinatal Outcomes Among Pregnancies with Periviable Fetal Growth Restriction

Objective: This study compared adverse perinatal outcomes between pregnancies complicated by periviable fetal growth restriction (pFGR) that underwent weekly sonographic surveillance versus serial growth surveillance. Study Design: In this retrospective cohort study, pFGR was defined as a 22 0/7 – 27 6/7-week singleton, < 500g, and ≤ 10 %. The surveillance group initiated weekly Doppler surveillance while the serial growth (SG) group underwent growth assessment every 3-4 weeks between 22 – 27 6/7 weeks. Adverse perinatal outcomes were compared. Results: 81 (36.2%) underwent weekly surveillance. Despite no difference in perinatal death, the surveillance group demonstrated a higher rate of obstetric (65.4% versus 42.7%, p < 0.05) and neonatal (60.8% versus 28.4%, p < 0.05) adverse outcome composites compared to the SG group. Conclusion: 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.