ORIGINAL ARTICLES   

Minerva Ginecologica 2002 October;54(5):397-402

Copyright © 2002 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: Italian

Pathological monolateral Doppler velocimetry of the uterine artery and materno-fetal outcome

Driul L., Springolo F., Pezzani I., Casarsa S., Plaino L., Ianni A., Cimenti C., Marchesoni D.

Background. The purpose of this study was to assess pathologic monolateral Doppler velocimetry of the uterine arteries as a screening test for preeclampsia and retarded intrauterine growth.
Methods. In this prospective longitudinal study carried out at the Obstetrics and Gynaecological Clinic of the University of Udine from January 200 to January 2001, 1008 utero-placental velocimetries at the 20th week of gestation were carried out by two operators; at the 24th, 111 velocimetric examinations were confirmed abnormal owing to the presence of a monolateral notch or of an increased resistance index in one of the two uterine arteries. The control group consisted of 729 patients with regular velocimetry comparable for age, race, BMI and parity. The materno-fetal outcomes were therefore assessed in both study groups.
Results. The incidence of preeclampsia and of retarded intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) was respectively 3.6% and 7.2% in patients with monolateral abnormal Doppler velocimetry. The positive predictive value (PPV) of the screening test for preeclampsia was 3% and the negative value (NPV) 99%.
Conclusions. The use of Doppler velocimetry of the uterine arteries with mono lateral alteration cannot be employed alone as a screening test for preeclampsia or retarded intrauterine growth in all pregnancies.