title: Umbilical Artery Half-Peak Systolic Velocity Deceleration Time in Fetal Growth Restriction.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the umbilical artery (UA) half-peak systolic velocity deceleration time (hPSV-DT) in pregnancies complicated by fetal growth restriction (FGR).
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included 266 singleton, high-risk pregnancies with an estimated fetal weight <10th percentile, which were examined between 24 and 40 weeks' gestation and delivered within a week from the last ultrasound evaluation. UA hPSV-DT was measured with Doppler ultrasound in the same wave used to measure the pulsatility index. UA hPSV-DT values were correlated with perinatal outcome.
  
  
  RESULTS
  UA hPSV-DT <5th percentile was found in 87 and 98% of fetuses with moderate and severe FGR, respectively. 94% of fetuses with a UA hPSV-DT <90 ms had poor perinatal outcome including perinatal death or prolonged admission to the neonatal intensive care unit. None of the fetuses had a UA hPSV-DT <70 ms. Perinatal death occurred in 39 fetuses; UA hPSV-DT was abnormal in all of them, with 95% of these fetuses having values of ≤120 ms. In the group of fetuses with absent/reverse end-diastolic velocity in the UA, the perinatal mortality rate was 51% for those with a UA hPSV-DT ≤90 ms and only 23% for those having a UA hPSV-DT >90 ms (p < 0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  UA hPSV-DT seems to be a useful technique in the evaluation of pregnancies at risk for FGR and perinatal death. Additionally, hPSV-DT was shown to be a good predictor of perinatal death, with values of <90 ms corresponding to imminent risk of intrauterine demise and values of <70 ms being likely to be incompatible with intrauterine life.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, San Juan de Dios Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Chile, Clinica Santa Maria, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Juan Carlos
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Bustos
authors.forename: Vivian
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gonzalez
authors.forename: Waldo
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sepulveda
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D005260:Female; D005317:Fetal Growth Retardation / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D054238:Perinatal Mortality; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D011379:Prognosis; D013599:Systole; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal; D014469:Umbilical Arteries / Q000098:blood supply*