The value of ultrasound blood flow parameters combined with placental growth factor in predicting the delivery of small for gestational age infants

Objective To investigate the predictive value of ultrasound blood flow parameters combined with placental growth factor(PLGF) in the delivery of small for gestational age infants.

Methods The clinical data of 120 pregnant women who delivered small for gestational age infants(observation group) were retrospectively analyzed, and 120 pregnant women who delivered normal fetuses at the same time were selected as the control group. The ultrasound parameters and PLGF levels between two groups were compared, and the predictive value of ultrasound parameters combined with PLGF for small for gestational age infants was analyzed.

Results The pulsatile index(PI), resistance index(RI), systolic to diastolic flow velocity ratio(S/D) and venous catheter(DV) blood flow of umbilical artery in the observation group were higher than those in control group(P < 0.05), while the umbilical vein(UV) blood flow and serum PLGF in the observation group were lower than those in control group(P < 0.05). The results of ROC curve showed that the AUC of PI, RI, S/D, DV blood flow, UV blood flow, PLGF and combined detection in predicting the delivery of SGA infants were 0.735, 0.743, 0.785, 0.739, 0.713, 0.752, and 0.987, respectively.

Conclusions The umbilical artery PI, RI, S/D, DV blood flow and UV blood flow of pregnant women delivering small for gestational age infants change significantly, and the serum PLGF decreases. The ultrasound blood flow parameters combined with serum PLGF can improve the predictive value of the delivery of small for gestational age infants.