Clinical consequences of first-trimester growth discordance in twins

Objectives: To evaluate the clinical consequences of size discordance in the first-trimester of pregnancy in twins. Study design: This study was performed in a university tertiary referral centre. Nineteen pairs of twins identified as discordant were compared with 41 concordant twins. The rates of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), congenital malformations, and growth discordance in late pregnancy and at delivery were compared using chi-squared test and Fisher's exact test. Results: There was not a significant difference in the rate of congenital malformations between the studied groups. The rates of IUGR and fetal growth discordance in late pregnancy were significantly higher in the first-trimester discordant group (57.2 and 35.7%, respectively) than in the control group (24.4 and 7.3%; P = 0.03 and 0.02, respectively). Conclusions: First-trimester growth discordant twins have an increased risk of IUGR and growth discordance in late pregnancy, and therefore they are a high-risk subgroup among multiple pregnancies. (c) 2004 Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.