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BackgroundIn pregnancies complicated by early-onset extreme fetal growth restriction, there is a high risk of preterm birth and an overall dismal fetal prognosis. Sildenafil has been suggested to improve this prognosis. The first aim of this review is to assess whether sildenafil benefits or harms these babies. The second aim is to analyse if these effects are modified in a clinically meaningful way by factors related to the women or the trial protocol.Methods/DesignThe STRIDER (Sildenafil Therapy In Dismal prognosis Early-onset intrauterine growth Restriction) Individual Participant Data (IPD) Study Group will conduct a prospective IPD and aggregate data systematic review with meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis. The STRIDER IPD Study Group started trial planning and funding applications in 2012. Three trials will be launched in 2014, recruiting for three years. Further trials are planned to commence in 2015.The primary outcome for babies is being alive at term gestation without evidence of serious adverse neonatal outcome. The latter is defined as severe central nervous system injury (severe intraventricular haemorrhage (grade 3 and 4) or cystic periventricular leukomalacia, demonstrated by ultrasound and/or magnetic resonance imaging) or other severe morbidity (bronchopulmonary dysplasia, retinopathy of prematurity requiring treatment, or necrotising enterocolitis requiring surgery). The secondary outcomes are improved fetal growth velocity assessed by ultrasound abdominal circumference measurements, gestational age and birth weight (centile) at delivery, and age-adequate performance on the two-year Bayley scales of infant and toddler development-III (composite cognitive score and composite motor score). Subgroup and sensitivity analyses in the IPD meta-analysis include assessment of the influence of several patient characteristics: an abnormal or normal serum level of placental growth factor, absent/reversed umbilical arterial end diastolic flow at commencement of treatment, and other patient characteristics available at baseline such as gestational age and estimated fetal weight. The secondary outcomes for mothers include co-incidence and severity of the maternal syndrome of pre-eclampsia, mortality, and other serious adverse events.DiscussionTrials are expected to start in 2013–2014 and end in 2016–2017. Data analyses of individual trials are expected to finish in 2019. Given the pre-planned and agreed IPD protocol, these results should be available in 2020.

IMPORTANCE Severe early onset fetal growth restriction caused by placental dysfunction leads to high rates of perinatal mortality and neonatal morbidity. The phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitor, sildenafil, inhibits cyclic guanosine monophosphate hydrolysis, thereby activating the effects of nitric oxide, and might improve uteroplacental function and subsequent perinatal outcomes. OBJECTIVE To determine whether sildenafil reduces perinatal mortality or major morbidity. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial was conducted at 10 tertiary referral centers and 1 general hospital in the Netherlands from January 20, 2015, to July 16, 2018. Participants included pregnant women between 20 and 30 weeks of gestation with severe fetal growth restriction, defined as fetal abdominal circumference below the third percentile or estimated fetal weight below the fifth percentile combined with Dopplers measurements outside reference ranges or a maternal hypertensive disorder. The trial was stopped

In a monitoring protocol based on ductus venosus and cardiotocography in early fetal growth restriction (26-31 weeks of gestation), the impact of middle cerebral artery Doppler and its ratios on outcome is modest and less marked than birthweight and delivery gestation. It is unlikely that middle cerebral artery Doppler and its ratios are informative in optimizing the timing of delivery in fetal growth restriction before 32 weeks of gestation. The umbilicocerebral ratio allows for a better differentiation in the abnormal range than the cerebroplacental ratio.

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Perinatal and 2-year outcome was better than expected in all randomized groups. Among survivors, 2-year neurodevelopmental outcome was best in those randomized to delivery based on late ductus venosus changes. Given a high rate of delivery based on the safety-net criteria, deciding delivery based on late ductus venosus changes and abnormal computerized fetal heart rate variability seems prudent. There is no rationale for delivery based on cerebral Doppler changes alone. Of note, most women with early-onset fetal growth restriction develop hypertension.

ObjectivesTo explore if in early fetal growth restriction (FGR) the longitudinal pattern of short-term fetal heart rate (FHR) variation (STV) can be used for identifying imminent fetal distress and if abnormalities of FHR registration associate with two-year infant outcome. MethodsThe original TRUFFLE study assessed if in early FGR the use of ductus venosus Doppler pulsatility index (DVPI), in combination with a safety-net of very low STV and / or recurrent decelerations, could improve two-year infant survival without neurological impairment in comparison to computerised cardiotocography (cCTG) with STV calculation only. For this secondary analysis we selected women, who delivered before 32 weeks, and who had consecutive STV data for more than 3 days before delivery, and known infant two-year outcome data. Women who received corticosteroids within 3 days of delivery were excluded.Individual regression line algorithms of all STV values except the last one were calculated.Life table analysis and Cox regression analysis were used to calculate the day by day risk for a low STV or very low STV and / or FHR decelerations (DVPI group safety-net) and to assess which parameters were associated to this risk. Furthermore, it was assessed if STV pattern, lowest STV value or recurrent FHR decelerations were associated with two-year infant outcome. ResultsOne hundred and fourty-nine women matched the inclusion criteria. Using the individual STV regression lines prediction of a last STV below the cCTG-group cut-off had a sensitivity of 0.42 and specificity of 0.91. For each day after inclusion the median risk for a low STV(cCTG criteria) was 4% (Interquartile range (IQR) 2% to 7%) and for a very low STV and / or recurrent decelerations (DVPI safety-net criteria) 5% (IQR 4 to 7%). Measures of This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.Accepted Article STV pattern, fetal Doppler (arterial or venous), birthweight MoM or gestational age did not improve daily risk prediction usefully. There was no association of STV regression coefficients, a last low STV or /and recurrent decelerations with short or long term infant outcomes. ConclusionThe TRUFFLE study showed that a strategy of DVPI monitoring with a safety-net delivery indication of very low STV and / or recurrent decelerations could increase infant survival without neurological impairment at two years. This post-hoc analysis demonstrates that in early FGR the day by day risk of an abnormal cCTG as defined by the DVPI protocol safetynet criteria is 5%, and that prediction of this is not possible. This supports the rationale for cCTG monitoring more often than daily in these high-risk fetuses. Low STV and/or recurrent decelerations were not associated with adverse infant outcome and it appears safe to delay intervention until such abnormalities occur, as long as DVPI is in the normal range.This article is