Assessing the sensitivity of placental growth factor and soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 at 36weeks' gestation to predict small-for-gestational-age infants or late-onset preeclampsia: A prospective nested case-control study

Abstract

Background: Fetal growth restriction is a disorder of placental dysfunction with three to four-fold increased risk of stillbirth. Fetal growth restriction has pathophysiological features in common with preeclampsia. We hypothesised that angiogenesis-related factors in maternal plasma, known to predict preeclampsia, may also detect fetal growth restriction at 36weeks' gestation. We therefore set out to determine the diagnostic performance of soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt-1), placental growth factor (PlGF), and the sFlt-1:PlGF ratio, measured at 36weeks' gestation, in identifying women who subsequently give birth to small-for-gestational-age (SGA; birthweight <10th centile) infants...