Doppler ultrasound of the uteroplacental circulation as a screening test for severe pre-eclampsia with intra-uterine growth retardation.
Two hundred primiparae underwent continuous-wave Doppler investigation of the uteroplacental circulation at 18-20 weeks gestation as a possible screening test for hypertension in pregnancy. Seventy-five women with abnormal waveforms suggestive of high uteroplacental resistance were tested again at 24 weeks when 21 demonstrated a persistent abnormality. Only nine (43%) of these went on to have an uncomplicated pregnancy, as compared with 150 (84%) of the remainder. Seventeen (8.5%) of the women in the study developed a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy, five of whom had abnormal waveforms at 18-20 weeks and at 24 weeks. These five women had a more severe degree of hypertension with proteinuria or intra-uterine growth retardation, and two required clinical intervention before term. The remaining 12 women were delivered at term of average, or heavier than average babies. Doppler investigation of the uteroplacental circulation at 24 weeks may prove to be a sensitive screening test for later severe pre-eclampsia with intra-uterine growth retardation.
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005317:Fetal Growth Retardation / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007236:Infant, Small for Gestational Age; D010920:Placenta / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011247:Pregnancy; D014463:Ultrasonography; D014655:Vascular Resistance