Perinatal outcomes of two consecutive strategies for the management of fetal growth restriction: a before–after study

Purpose We aim to compare the perinatal outcomes of two consecutive management strategies for fetal growth restriction (FGR), with or without the inclusion of additional Doppler parameters. Methods A quasi-experimental before/after study was conducted in which we compared a composite perinatal outcome, prematurity rate, and neonatal complications between two management strategies in small fetuses. In the strategy 1 (S1), the management was based on fetal biometry and umbilical artery Doppler. The second strategy (S2) added the assessment of uterine and middle cerebral artery Doppler. We also compared outcomes between strategies according to early (≤ 32 weeks) and late (> 32 weeks) diagnosis subgroups. Results We included 396 patients, 163 in S1 and 233 in S2. There were no significant differences in the perinatal composite outcome ( p 0.98), prematurity ( p 0.19), or in the subgroup analysis. We found a significant reduction in respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) rate with S2 both globally (OR 0.50, p 0.02), and in the early diagnosis subgroup (OR 0.45, p 0.01). In addition, we observed a significant reduction in the incidence of sepsis with S2 both globally (OR 0.30, p 0.04) and in the early diagnosis subgroup (OR 0.25, p 0.02). We did not observe significant differences in necrotizing enterocolitis ( p 0.41) and intraventricular hemorrhage ( p 1.00). Conclusion The expanded strategy for the management of FGR did not show significant differences in the primary composite outcome or prematurity. However, it was associated with a lower incidence of RDS and neonatal sepsis.