ABSTRACT
A study was made in order to assess whether the combined use of color flow mapping and conventional pulsed Doppler could improve the accuracy of blood flow velocity waveform analysis in fetal and placental circulations. Fifty patients were studied at 18 to 20 or 26 to 28 weeks of gestation by two trained investigators by means of either conventional Doppler or conventional Doppler plus color flow mapping. Recordings were performed at the level of the uterine arteries, umbilical artery, descending aorta, and internal carotid artery. The experimental procedure was repeated the following day with the patients undergoing the alternate technique of recording. In all the vascular districts investigated, color flow mapping allowed us to obtain a higher number of reliable recordings, to shorten the observation time, and to reduce the intra- and interobserver coefficient of variations.
Subject(s)
Fetus/blood supply , Placenta/blood supply , Pregnancy/physiology , Ultrasonography/methods , Uterus/blood supply , Aorta, Thoracic/physiology , Arteries/physiology , Blood Flow Velocity , Carotid Artery, Internal/physiology , Color , Female , Humans , Pregnancy Trimester, Second , Reproducibility of Results , Umbilical Arteries/physiologyABSTRACT
The transitions, i.e. time intervals between two different behavioural states, were studied in 10 healthy and 10 growth retarded fetuses (IUGR) in near term pregnancies. In healthy fetuses, transitions usually lasted less than 3 min whereas IUGR fetuses showed a longer duration when compared to healthy fetuses. Moreover, a significant trend in the change of state variables (fetal heart rate, fetal eye movements and fetal gross body movements) was evident in healthy fetuses: fetal heart rate was the first variable to change in transitions from 1F to 2F and the last variable to change in transitions from 2F to 1F. On the other hand IUGR fetuses showed a random sequence in order of change. These findings were substantiated by the intraindividual consistency evidenced in repeated recordings. In conclusion the analysis of transitions differentiates between healthy fetuses and those affected by IUGR.
Subject(s)
Fetal Growth Retardation/diagnosis , Blood Flow Velocity , Female , Fetal Growth Retardation/physiopathology , Fetal Movement , Gestational Age , Heart Rate, Fetal , Humans , Male , Pregnancy , Prenatal Diagnosis , Time FactorsSubject(s)
Fetal Growth Retardation/diagnostic imaging , Prenatal Diagnosis/methods , Blood Flow Velocity , Diagnosis, Differential , Female , Fetal Distress/diagnostic imaging , Fetal Growth Retardation/etiology , Humans , Oxygen/administration & dosage , Predictive Value of Tests , Pregnancy , Pulsatile Flow , Risk Factors , Sensitivity and Specificity , UltrasonographyABSTRACT
A cerebral midline cystic lesion was detected by real-time ultrasound in utero in the absence of other congenital abnormalities. Pulsed Doppler ultrasound assessment of fetal circulation demonstrated normal peripheral and intracardiac hemodynamics associated with decreased cerebral vascular resistance. Furthermore, a markedly turbulent flow pattern was evidenced within the cerebral lesion. The presence of a cerebral arteriovenous malformation with an aneurysm of the vein of Galen was suggested and the provisional diagnosis was later confirmed by computed tomography and carotid angiography performed after birth.
