ABSTRACT
Background: It has been since antiquity that the importance of amniotic fluid and fetal growth with perinatal outcome is being documented. But the lacunae lies in studying the relationship between borderline amniotic fluid and perinatal outcome. The following study was undertaken to provide recent data that would help predict perinatal outcome in borderline AFI pregnancies.Methods: About 144 patients were considered in the study OPD/IPD patients in obstetrics and gynecology department in Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and Hospital, with about 72 cases with borderline amniotic fluid index (5-8 cm) and controls with amniotic fluid index ≥9-25 cm. Patients were selected and subjected to history taking, examination, ultrasound test with doppler studies and perinatal outcome documented over a period of one year.Results: The incidence of borderline AFI in my study was 16%. 58% were primigravidas. Meconium stained liquor was found in 18% cases compared to 7% controls. Low birth weight was found in 12.5% cases and 2.7% in controls. On applying statistical test analysis chi square test, it was found that borderline amniotic fluid index in relation to presence of meconium stained amniotic fluid and low birth weight, p value was found to be statistically significant (<0.05).Conclusions: Borderline amniotic fluid and perinatal outcome had significant relationship in terms of meconium stained liquor and birth weight while rest had no significance. Thus, borderline amniotic fluid patients require vigilant fetal surveillance.
ABSTRACT
Background: Amniotic fluid is an indicator of placental function on the fetal development. It is regulated by several systems, including transmembraneous pathway, fetal production (fetal urine and lung fluid) and uptake (fetal swallowing), and the balance of fluid movement via osmotic gradients. The amniotic fluid index is the most commonly used method of measuring amniotic fluid. An AFI between 5 to 8 cms is borderline oligohydraminos. To compare the fetal and maternal outcome in pregnancies with borderline amniotic fluid index (5 to 8 cms) and normal AFI.Methods: This prospective cohort study was carried out on 94 pregnant patients attending the antenatal clinic of MES Medical College, Perinthalmanna between January 1st and December 31st 2016. Women with a singleton pregnancy in the third trimester were enrolled into the study. Of these 47 cases were in the normal AFI group and 47 cases in the borderline group. Adequate information was obtained from the patient’s medical record and the groups were compared on maternal and fetal complications.Results: The study results showed that more cases with borderline AFI had their non stress test to be nonreactive (59.6% versus 23.4%) and was associated with more fetal heart rate abnormalities (51% versus 17%). The number of meconium stained amniotic fluid (48.9% versus 19.1%) and caesarean deliveries (51.1% versus 21.2%) were also more among the borderline group.Conclusions: Findings indicated that there are more adverse fetal and maternal outcome among the borderline AFI group.