#AI reads Urine# Urinary PlGF at 28-32 weeks of pregnancy as a predictor of small for gestational age infant and fetal growth restriction: a prospective observational study
Published 04 December, 2025
This prospective observational study enrolled pregnant women with singleton pregnancies between 28 and 32 weeks of gestation. Random urine samples were collected to measure placental growth factor and creatinine levels, and pregnancy outcomes were followed up for 214 participants (202 with normal blood pressure and 12 with preeclampsia). The results showed that the level of placental growth factor in the urine of women who delivered small for gestational age infants was significantly lower than that of women who delivered infants with normal birth weight, and this indicator was positively correlated with fetal birth weight and the time from sampling to delivery. The gestational age-adjusted urinary placental growth factor value had high predictive accuracy for fetal growth restriction and a certain predictive effect for small for gestational age infants. Among normotensive women, when using the 20th centile as the cutoff value, the sensitivity for predicting fetal growth restriction reached 100% and the specificity was 82.99%, but it had no predictive value in women with preeclampsia. In addition, this indicator was also associated with the time of delivery—the lower the value, the earlier the delivery might be. This study indicates that detecting placental growth factor in the urine of pregnant women between 28 and 32 weeks of pregnancy can serve as a non-invasive biomarker for predicting fetal growth restriction and small for gestational age infants, especially suitable for settings with insufficient medical resources. Future research needs to further verify its clinical application value and combine it with ultrasound examinations to improve predictive effectiveness.
Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2025 Nov 3:316:114812. doi: 10.1016/j.ejogrb.2025.114812.
Youhe Gao
Statement: During the preparation of this work the author(s) used Doubao / AI reading for summarizing the content. After using this tool/service, the author(s) reviewed and edited the content as needed and take(s) full responsibility for the content of the published article.
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