Monier I, Hocquette A, Zeitlin J. [Review of the literature on intrauterine and birthweight charts].
GYNECOLOGIE, OBSTETRIQUE, FERTILITE & SENOLOGIE 2023;
51:256-269. [PMID:
36302475 DOI:
10.1016/j.gofs.2022.09.014]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2022] [Accepted: 09/29/2022] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES
To describe the main intrauterine and birthweight charts and review the studies comparing their performance for the identification of infants at risk of adverse perinatal outcomes.
METHODS
We carried out a literature search using Medline and selected the charts most frequently cited in the literature, French charts and those recently published.
RESULTS
Current knowledge on the association between mortality and morbidity and growth anomalies (small and large for gestational age) mostly relies on the use of descriptive charts which describe the weight distribution in unselected populations. Prescriptive charts, which describe ideal growth in low risk populations, have been constructed more recently. Few studies have evaluated whether the thresholds used to identify infants at risk with descriptive charts (such as the 3rd or the 10th percentile) are applicable to prescriptive charts. There is a large variability in the percentage of fetuses or newborns identified as being at risk by each chart, with from 3 to 25% having with a weight under the 10th percentile, regardless of whether descriptive or prescriptive charts are used. The sensitivity and specificity of antenatal screening for small or large for gestational age newborns depends on the chart used to derive estimated fetal weight percentiles.
CONCLUSION
There is marked variability between intrauterine growth charts that can influence the percentage of infants identified as having abnormal growth. These results show that before the adoption of a growth chart, it is essential to evaluate whether it adequately describes the population and its performance for identifying of infants at risk because of growth anomalies.
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