Incidencia y características epidemiológicas del crecimiento intrauterino restringido en el Hospital Universitario Reina Sofía

Abstract

Objectives To determine the incidence and describe the epidemiologic characteristics of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) in 2007 in the Reina Sofia University Hospital in Cordoba. Material and methods We performed a descriptive, cross-sectional study in which the charts of IUGR fetuses born between January 1st and December 31st, 2007 were reviewed. Results The incidence of IUGR during 2007 in the Reina Sofia University Hospital in Cordoba was 411 cases (9.94%), of which 43 cases (10.47%) were preterm fetuses. The mean pH in IUGR newborns with a gestational age of less than 34 weeks was lower than that in newborns with higher gestational age (p=0.065). A total of 24% of IUGR fetuses had a cesarean delivery compared with 19.7% of cesareans in newborns with normal weight (p=0.030). The principal causes of IUGR were maternal age >35 or <20 years old (29.68%), smoking (17.78%), vascular causes (10.46%) and multiple pregnancies (4.37%). In 29.93% of IUGR fetuses no cause was found. The perinatal mortality rate was significantly higher (p<0.001) in IUGR fetuses (17.03×1000) than in the group with normal weight (3.22×1000). Conclusions IUGR is an abnormality of unknown etiology that affects 9.94% of pregnancies in the Reina Sofia University Hospital. In most IUGR fetuses, gestational age is more than 37 weeks and in approximately 70% of these fetuses an underlying cause can be found. Cesarean sections were significantly more frequent in IUGR fetuses than in those with normal weight. Similarly, perinatal mortality was 5.3 times higher in this group than in the normal group. In our hospital the sensitivity rate for the detection of this entity is 78.72%.