Introduction: Fetal growth restriction (FGR) affects cardiac function and increases the risk of cardiac pathologies. We describe the relationship between cardiac contractility and cardiac size and shape in FGR and small-for-gestational age (SGA) fetuses to determine if ultrasound measurements can indicate functional cardiac sequelae. Methods: This prospective cohort study included fetuses with gestational ages of 23.0-39.0 weeks (FGR: n=55, SGA: n=40, appropriate for gestational age/AGA: n= 22). FGR was defined as fetuses with EFW 95th centile or <5th centile based on predicted effect of FGR/SGA on each measurement. Frequency was binary, with a fetus assigned a 1 if they had any abnormal measurement, and 0 if not. Severity was determined by summing the abnormal measurements. Frequency and severity were determined independently for contractility versus size and shape and compared across groups using chi-squared and ANOVA respectively.
Roy et al. (Mon,) studied this question.