A group of researchers at Dexeus Mujer, led by Dr Raquel Mula, has conducted a prospective study to improve the prediction of foetal growth restriction in a population of pregnant women at high risk of developing early pre-eclampsia (PE). The study population included 390 pregnancies at high risk of early PE based on first trimester screening.

These pregnant women were followed up in a high-risk unit. Monthly ultrasound and blood tests were performed to determine PlGF and sFlt-1 factors. Subsequently, cross-sectional prediction models were created at 20, 24 and 28 weeks including PlGF and sFlt-1. These models were compared with a model assessing longitudinal changes in these parameters. It was observed that the predictive performance of a model assessing longitudinal changes in angiogenic factors was similar to that of individual assessments in the second and third trimester. Eventually, the mean uterine artery pulsatility index (UtA PI) and abdominal circumference (AC) were added to these prediction models. The performance of these models was found to be better than those using only biochemical markers. However, the longitudinal model did not perform better than the cross-sectional models.

The authors concluded that angiogenic factors are useful markers for the prediction of foetal growth restriction in a high-risk population, although their longitudinal assessment does not increase their predictive ability.