Development and validation of model for prediction of placental dysfunction‐related stillbirth from maternal factors, fetal weight and uterine artery Doppler at mid‐gestation
Authors: Ashoor G. , Syngelaki A. , Papastefanou I. , Nicolaides K. H. , Akolekar R. 
Published: October 2021

Objective

To examine the performance of a model combining maternal risk factors, uterine artery pulsatility index (UtA‐PI) and estimated fetal weight (EFW) at 19–24 weeks' gestation, for predicting all antepartum stillbirths and those due to impaired placentation, in a training dataset used for development of the model and in a validation dataset.

Methods

The data for this study were derived from prospective screening for adverse obstetric outcome in women with singleton pregnancy attending for routine pregnancy care at 19 + 0 to 24 + 6 weeks' gestation. The study population was divided into a training dataset used to develop prediction models for placental dysfunction‐related antepartum stillbirth and a validation dataset to which the models were then applied. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to develop a model based on a combination of maternal risk factors, EFW Z‐score and UtA‐PI multiples of the normal median. We examined the predictive performance of the model by, first, the ability of the model to discriminate between the stillbirth and live‐birth groups, using the area under the receiver‐operating‐characteristics curve (AUC) and the detection rate (DR) at a fixed false‐positive rate (FPR) of 10%, and, second, calibration by measurements of calibration slope and intercept.

Results

The study population of 131 514 pregnancies included 131 037 live births and 477 (0.36%) stillbirths. There are four main findings of this study. First, 92.5% (441/477) of stillbirths were antepartum and 7.5% (36/477) were intrapartum, and 59.2% (261/441) of antepartum stillbirths were observed in association with placental dysfunction and 40.8% (180/441) were unexplained or due to other causes. Second, placental dysfunction accounted for 80.1% (161/201) of antepartum stillbirths at < 32 weeks' gestation, 54.2% (52/96) at 32 + 0 to 36 + 6 weeks and 33.3% (48/144) at ≥ 37 weeks. Third, the risk of placental dysfunction‐related antepartum stillbirth increased with increasing maternal weight and decreasing maternal height, was 3‐fold higher in black than in white women, was 5.5‐fold higher in parous women with previous stillbirth than in those with previous live birth, and was increased in smokers, in women with chronic hypertension and in parous women with a previous pregnancy complicated by pre‐eclampsia and/or birth of a small‐for‐gestational‐age baby. Fourth, in screening for placental dysfunction‐related antepartum stillbirth by a combination of maternal risk factors, EFW and UtA‐PI in the validation dataset, the DR at a 10% FPR was 62.3% (95% CI, 57.2–67.4%) and the AUC was 0.838 (95% CI, 0.799–0.878); these results were consistent with those in the dataset used for developing the algorithm and demonstrate high discrimination between affected and unaffected pregnancies. Similarly, the calibration slope was 1.029 and the intercept was −0.009, demonstrating good agreement between the predicted risk and observed incidence of placental dysfunction‐related antepartum stillbirth. The performance of screening was better for placental dysfunction‐related antepartum stillbirth at < 37 weeks' gestation compared to at term (DR at a 10% FPR, 69.8% vs 29.2%).

Conclusions

Screening at mid‐gestation by a combination of maternal risk factors, EFW and UtA‐PI can predict a high proportion of placental dysfunction‐related stillbirths and, in particular, those that occur preterm. Such screening provides poor prediction of unexplained stillbirth or stillbirth due to other causes. © 2021 International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.