Validation of brain:thymus weight ratio as a marker of fetal stress

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Determination of normal range for brain weight:thymus weight ratio in late fetal life and validation of brain weight:thymus weight ratio as a marker of chronic fetal stress including fetal growth restriction

• IRAS ID

  131760

• Contact name

  Phillip Cox

• Contact email

  phillip.cox@bwhct.nhs.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  Birmingham Women's NHSFT

• Research summary

  This study will utilise data from the Birmingham Women’s Hospital Perinatal Pathology Post Mortem database, on which the previous linked studies have also been based.
  The first stage of the study will be to identify a cohort of fetal post mortems of non- and mildly macerated babies from 20 weeks gestation to term that show no evidence of growth restriction (normal body weight and normal brain to liver weight ratio) or other significant disease. These will be used determine the normal range (mean, range and 5th and 95th percentiles) of brain to thymus weight ratio (BTR) at different gestational ages.
  A second, independent, unselected post mortem cohort will then be evaluated to assess the validity of using different cut-off values of BTR as a marker of pre-existent fetal disease including IUGR.

• REC name

  London - Bromley Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  14/LO/0206

• Date of REC Opinion

  23 Jan 2014

• REC opinion

  Favourable Opinion