Urinary levels of epidermal growth factor throughout pregnancy - A useful parameter for monitoring intrauterine growth retardation?

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) in urine was measured at 4-week intervals in 83 women referred for suspected intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR); 138 women with normal singleton pregnancies and newborns of normal weight serv ed as controls. Of the 83 women, 30 delivered babies with weight below the 10th percentile after week 37. During pregnancy these women had shown signi ficantly lower EGF levels than women who delivered normal-weight babies. Ho wever, due to the wide distribution of individual EGF data, no clear clinic al cut-off point between normal and IUGR values could be established.