title: Uterine artery Doppler longitudinal changes in pregnancies complicated with intrauterine growth restriction without preeclampsia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this article is to evaluate the longitudinal changes in uterine artery Doppler pulsatility index (UtA-PI) in pregnancies complicated with early onset intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR).
  
  
  METHODS
  Case-control study comparing UtA-PI from 20 to 34 weeks gestation in pregnancies affected by IUGR at 20 to 28 weeks and confirmed at delivery (cases), matched with 1000 controls. Multivariable analyses were used to estimate the UtA-PI as a function of both gestational age and IUGR severity. Finally, bootstrapping technique was used to internally validate the models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We retrospectively retrieved 53 cases and 1000 controls. Regression line having log10 UtA-PI as dependent variable was a function of both gestational age and IUGR. UtA-PI decreased with gestational age in both groups. In IUGR group, UtA-PI was higher from 20 weeks onward and the difference with controls increased with gestational age. In fact, at 20 weeks, the UtA-PI ratio between cases and controls was 1.84, but at 30 weeks it rose to 2.05. Finally, the weight at delivery in the IUGR group was also inversely correlated with the UtA-PI values.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We presented a reliable multivariable statistical model to evaluate the temporal changes of UtA-PI values as a function of both gestational age and IUGR.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Surgery (DIMEC), Maternal-Fetal Medicine Unit, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Contro
authors.forename: Dong Hyun
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Cha
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: De Maggio
authors.forename: Sara Yasmin
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Ismail
authors.forename: Veronica
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Falcone
authors.forename: Sandro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gabrielli
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Farina
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005317:Fetal Growth Retardation / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D011247:Pregnancy; D011673:Pulsatile Flow; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018608:Ultrasonography, Doppler; D055988:Uterine Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*