COMPARING NEONATAL OUTCOMES IN NORMAL VERSUS BORDERLINE AMNIOTIC FLUID INDEX (AFI) IN FULL TERM PREGNANCIES

Abstract

Background: The borderline amniotic fluid index (AFI) is one of the grey areas to ascertain its impact on fetomaternal outcomes. Objectives: (I) To find the frequency of borderline AFI (5-24 cm) in full term pregnancies. (II) To compare birthweight (BW) and 5 min Apgar in normal versus borderline AFI groups. Study design: Descriptive case series Place and duration of study: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, DHQ teaching Hospital, Gujranwala.  Materials and Methods: Following approval from the institutional ethical committee, we enrolled 120 patients with singleton term pregnancies from our hospital's labor room. Patients were grouped into normal and borderline AFI groups based on sonographic assessments. All patients were monitored until delivery, and fetal BW and 5 min Apgar score were measured. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 25, with statistical significance defined as a p-value of ≤ 0.05. Results: The patients had a mean age of 29.23 ± 6.39 years. The mean AFI was 13.18 ± 5.80 cm, and the mean birthweight was 3047.83 ± 474.76 grams. The mean Apgar score at 5 min was 8.14 ± 1.102. Patients with borderline AFI were 34 (28.33%). The distribution of mean BW in AFI groups showed that the mean BW in the normal AFI group was 3132.51 ± 425.331 grams, while in the borderline AFI group, it was 2833.62 ± 529.945 grams (P=0.002). The mean 5 min Apgar score was 8.28 ± 1.081 versus 7.79 ± 1.095 for normal versus borderline AFI groups respectively (P=0.029). Conclusion: The borderline AFI is 28.33% of our population. The fetal BW and 5 min Apgar score are significantly higher in normal versus borderline AFI. The large multicentred trials would provide more insight before final verdict.