Fetal growth restriction as a diagnostic criterion for preeclampsia.

Objectives: Currently, no unified set of criteria to classify preeclampsia (PE) exists. Further, no consensus has been reached whether fetal growth restriction (FGR) should be included in diagnostic criteria for PE. We examined the adequacy of including FGR in diagnostic criteria for PE.

Study Design: Singleton pregnancy patients who developed PE before 34 weeks of gestation managed at a tertiary center between 2010 and 2016 were included. Patients were divided into two groups according to cause for PE diagnosis. In addition, those diagnosed with PE because of gestational hypertension (GH) and FGR were divided into two groups according to presence of proteinuria or organ dysfunction during the expectant management.

Main Outcome Measures: Pregnancy prolongation from PE diagnosis.

Results: Of 69 PE patients, 18 (28.1%) were diagnosed as PE with GH and only FGR (F group). Pregnancy prolongation between PE diagnosis to delivery was longer in the F group than in PE cases with primary organ dysfunction (P group) (21 vs 10 days, P = 0.049). Of 18 patients in the F group, 12 (66.7%) subsequently had proteinuria or organ dysfunction (S group). The remaining 6 patients (33.3%) had no subsequent proteinuria or organ dysfunction (N group). There were no significant differences in prolongation of pregnancy from organ dysfunction onset to delivery between the S and P groups (10 vs 10 days, P = 0.36).

Conclusions: Organ dysfunction onset may reflect PE progression more accurately than FGR onset. Further investigations on whether to include FGR into the diagnostic criteria for PE are needed.