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A correlation has been suggested between impaired fetal growth and preterm delivery. To further investigate this possibility, the femur length/abdominal circumference ratio (FL/AC) was used as a gestational-age independent index of fetal growth in 82 patients admitted because of preterm labor. Of these patients, 43 delivered at term; tocolysis was unsuccessful in 39 patients who delivered preterm. The FL/AC was significant larger in the group with unsuccessful tocolytic therapy compared with the successfully treated group, 23.6 +/- 2.6 vs. 21.3 +/- 1.3 (mean + SD), respectively (P less than 0.001). These results indicate that preterm delivery may be associated with suboptimal fetal growth.

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