Smoking status effects on common carotid arteries resistivity and pulsatility indices in current Sudanese smokers

Many different indices have been used to describe the shape of the flow waveforms but commonly used indices available on most commercial scanners are: resistance index [RI] and pulsatility index [PI]. This study intended to evaluate the effects of smoking in common carotid arteries Doppler RI and PI, according to smoking status [number of cigarettes smoked per day] in current Sudanese smokers. 1752 Sudanese subjects with 440 of them were non smokers. Female's distribution in the total number of subjects is 161 while males are 1591 with mean age of 28 +/- 11.8 years. a percentage of 49.32% of male subjects were current smokers but there was no female found to be a smoker. Ultrasound examination was established within each vascular laboratory to ensure that common carotid arteries sonography is performed consistently, comprehensively and accurately. These techniques may be modified to match the needs of specific patients or vascular laboratories. In all cases, however, the protocol should meet or exceed the standards established by the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine [AIUM] or the Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Vascular Laboratories [ICAVL]. The standards of these two agencies are substantially the same which was our guide for sonographic scanning in the study. Smoking status in current smokers effectively increases the RI and the PI than their normal ranges with a positive linear correlation manner. Findings of this study reported that smoking status effectively increase common carotid arteries Doppler RI and PI in a positive manner were the effect noticed to be in the left common carotid artery more than that of the right one

Fetal femoral length as a parameter for estimation of fetal weight using ultrasound

The fetal femoral length [FFL] can be a factor in calculating the fetal weight [FW] via ultrasound. Its size and ease of measurement makes the femur the long bone of choice in predicting fetal weight. This study was designed to find a simplified and accurate method to estimate FW in Sudanese ladies with healthy and singleton pregnancy. A total of 230 healthy pregnant ladies with an age that ranged between 18 to 42 years with normal and well being, singleton pregnancy, had transabdominal ultrasound in order to estimate FW using Shephard equation. FW can be estimated accurately and easily by using the following formula that use a single biometric measure which is [FW [g] = 14.714 x FFL[cm] - 188.56] with a correlation factor R[2]=0.9587 that indicates a positive linear correlation between FW in grams and FFL in centimeters. Obtained equation is an accurate and simplified method when compare to other complicated equations used in estimation of fetal weight

Transvaginal scan versus transabdominal scan for gestational sac detection in the early first trimester of pregnancy in Sudanese Ladies

Since ectopic pregnancy is the leading cause of maternal death in the first trimester, the clear identification of a normal intra-uterine pregnancy by ultrasonography is vital as these pregnancies have a good prognosis. Modern ultrasound technology, especially transvaginal, has improved the assessment of early pregnancy development. The use of diagnostic ultrasound during pregnancy is considered to be safe for both mother and feotus, even in critical periods of development the using high-frequency transvaginal transducers, has no adverse bioeffects been demonstrated. Ultrasound provides reassurance, charts normal development, and identifies women with abnormal or high risk pregnancies. This study was designed to compare the efficiency between transvaginal scan [TVS] over transabdominal scan [TAS] in the early detection for the presence of gestational sac in the first trimester of pregnancy. A total of 100 women with an age that ranged between 15 to 45 years old and showed a positive pregnancy test during first trimester of pregnancy, had transvaginal and transabdominal ultrasound in order to compare the value of these two techniques for the detection of gestational sac. TVS found to be significant and superior when compared with TAS in detection for the presence of gestational sac, where Pearson Chi-Square value=32.727 and P value=.000; [Pearson Chi-Square=32.727 and P=.000]. Despite of this fact, knowledge of the finding on TAS made it easier to interpret the transvaginal findings. Although TVS have limitations such as locate lesions outside the pelvis and needs further counseling and education. TVS is more efficient in accessing the presence of gestational sac in early first trimester of pregnancy rather than the TAS