Doppler ultrasound hemodynamic assessment in preeclampsia

Abstract

Background: Preeclampsia (PE) is the main factor in maternal mortality across the world, affecting 5%–8% of pregnant women. The impairment in placental perfusion due to vascular abnormalities leads to clinical presentations and is detectable by Doppler ultrasound. Objective: The aim of the study is to assess the hemodynamic changes in pregnant women with and without PE, using Doppler ultrasound of the uterine, the umbilical, and the middle cerebral arteries. Materials and Methods: Forty pregnant women aged 19–40 years old, diagnosed with PE, were recruited from the outpatient gynecology clinic into a case–control study. Their Doppler ultrasound hemodynamic assessment of the uterine artery and its early diastolic notching, the middle cerebral artery, and the umbilical artery was compared to that of 60 matched control non-preeclampsia (non-PE) pregnant women aged 19–40 years old. Results: The proportions of patients with uterine artery, umbilical artery, and middle cerebral artery Doppler ultrasound abnormalities were 77.5%, 62.5%, and 37.5% in the PE group, compared to nil, 8.3%, and 11.7% in the non-PE women, respectively. Similarly, mean resistance index of each artery and proportions of notch parameters of the uterine artery showed significant differences between PE and non-PE patients (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Doppler ultrasound assessment in pregnant women of the uterine, the umbilical, and the middle cerebral arteries can be used to determine hemodynamic dysfunction associated with PE.

Keywords

• Assessment
• Doppler ultrasound
• hemodynamics
• preeclampsia