Fetal โHeart Function assessment Shows Promiseโ in Predicting Complications of Restricted Growth
London, UK – Aโ new systematic โreview and meta-analysis โpublished in BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth reveals that myocardial performance index (MPI), โฃa non-invasive measureโ of fetalโ heartโ function,โ demonstrates consistent results across โขmultiple studies evaluating pregnancies complicated by small-for-gestational age (SGA).The findings suggest MPI could be a valuable tool for identifying fetuses at higher risk of adverse outcomes.
Theโฃ research, synthesizing data from numerous investigations, focuses on the potential of MPI โคto assess cardiac performance in SGAโ fetuses – those whose growth is below the 10th โpercentile for gestational age. SGA pregnancies carry increased risks of stillbirth, neonatal morbidity, and long-term health problems. Currently, โmonitoring reliesโค heavily on โฃultrasound measurements of growth โand Doppler studies of blood flow, but these methods aren’t always accurate โpredictors of โคfetal well-being. MPI offers a complementary assessment,evaluating both systolic and diastolic function ofโ the heart,potentiallyโค providing โaโ more โฃcomprehensive picture of fetal cardiac health.
Researchers analyzed data from studies comparing MPI values inโฃ SGA fetuses to those with normal growth. The analysis confirmed that fetuses with SGA consistently โexhibited elevated MPI values, indicating impaired cardiac function. Specifically, studies referenced include work by Kaya et al.(2019) [DOI: 10.1002/jcu.23804], Oluklu et al. (2023) โ [DOI: 10.1002/ijgo.14602], and Palalioglu et al. (2021) โ [DOI: 10.5603/GP.a2020.0175]. Importantly, the researchers found that excluding individual studies from โthe analysis did not considerably alter the overall results, reinforcing the robustness of the findings (detailed in Supplementary Table S10).
This research underscores โฃthe need for further investigation into the clinical application of MPI โฃin managing SGA pregnancies.While not aโค replacement โขfor โexistingโข monitoring techniques, MPI could potentially refine risk stratification โand โguide decisions regardingโ timing โofโ delivery, ultimately improving outcomes for bothโ mother and child.
