Publication:

A prospective study on the role of umbilical artery doppler velocimetry in the perinatal outcome of growth restricted fetuses

Background To compare pregnancy outcomes in growth-restricted fetuses retaining normal umbilical artery doppler flow and the outcomes of pregnancies with end-diastolic velocity diminished or severely reduced/absent.

Methods In a prospective observational study, one hundred pregnant women with growth-restricted fetuses were followed with doppler velocimetry of the umbilical artery between weeks 28 and 41 of pregnancy. Outcomes were compared for the normal doppler group (55%) (Group 1), the low-end diastolic flow group (32%) (Group 2), and the group with severely reduced or absent end-diastolic velocity waveforms (13%) (Group 3).

Results Fetuses with abnormal umbilical flow velocimetry had higher incidence of oligohydramnios (82.2%). The average birth weight and gestational age at delivery were lower in the abnormal doppler group. Significantly more women with severe reduction/AEDV, 31/45 (68.8%), underwent caesarean section, with 20 of them (44.4 %) for fetal distress, compared with 17/55 (30.9%) women in the normal doppler group, with 9 of them (16.4%) for fetal distress. Also, fetuses with abnormal umbilical artery velocimetry had early delivery at less than 36 weeks of gestation (38.2% versus 65.85%), increased NICU admission (32.7% versus 80%), need for PPV (5.5% versus 40%), low Apgar score (9.1 % versus 50.2%) than those with normal doppler. All the three stillbirths in the study population were in the abnormal doppler group.

Conclusions Umbilical artery doppler velocimetry helps in differentiating fetus with pathological growth restriction at risk for perinatal complications from small and healthy fetuses.