Study to Evaluate the Doppler Indices of Umbilical and Middle Cerebral Arteries for Predicting the Perinatal Outcome in Patients with Pre-Eclampsia

ABSTRACT

Pre-eclampsia is one of the leading causes of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. The main goal of antepartum fetal surveillance is to identify fetuses at increased risk for perinatal mortality and morbidity. Doppler ultrasound allows a noninvasive assessment of fetal haemodynamics. This study was done to evaluate the usefulness of Doppler indices of umbilical & middle cerebral arteries, in patients with pre-eclampsia for predicting the perinatal outcome. Methods: It is a prospective study which was conducted in the Department of Radiodiagnosis in accord with the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Dr. RPGMC Kangra at Tanda, Himachal Pradesh. All pregnant females>28 weeks of gestation, diagnosed of having pre-eclampsia were evaluated with fetal doppler. Data obtained was evaluated and compared with the clinical outcome. Results: During the study period, 104 patients suffering from pre-eclampsia presented to the department and were included in the study. Abnormal Doppler indices were observed in 29(27.9%) patients. 26(89.6%) of these 29 pregnancies had an abnormal perinatal outcome. Conclusions: Because the changes in the umbilical and middle cerebral artery strongly correlated with the perinatal outcome, Doppler ultrasound was found to be a primary tool for fetomaternal surveillance in hypertensive pregnancy and could reinforce the obstetric management by accurately timing the delivery and thereby reducing the morbidity and subsequent mortality