Color Doppler Ultrasonography in High Risk Pregnancies

Authors: Bilqees Amin , Shayesta Rahi, Arshad Bashir, Mir Mudasir Sidiq, Amina Bhanu

Abstract

Color Doppler Ultrasound has made it possible to delineate smaller vessels like the umbilical, uterine, fetal middle cerebral artery and the fetal aorta with greater ease and accuracy, resulting in quicker and more accurate examination and offers the potential to evaluate uteroplacental and fetal blood flow serially and to understand the pathophysiology of a complicated pregnancy. Hundred patients with high-risk singleton pregnancies like IUGR, diabetes, bad obstetric history, Rh isoimmunisation and PIH of all childbearing age groups irrespective of parity were included in the study. Color Doppler evaluation of the uteroplacental circulation was determined and correlated with perinatal outcome. Among 46 pregnancies with abnormal Doppler results perinatal mortality and morbidity was 41.3% and 23.9%, respectively, as compared to patients with normal Doppler waveforms with 3.7% perinatal mortality and 11.1% morbidity. Out of 28 cases, which showed AEDF/REDF, caesarean section was done in 16 cases and perinatal mortality in these cases were 31.3% while as in 12 cases, where no intervention was done, perinatal mortality was 100%. Survival rate of babies was 84.6% in cases of AEDF/REDF when terminated by caesarean section and 0% when no intervention was done even if the baby weight was >1350 gram. Doppler provides a safe, noninvasive, relatively cheap, easily available and very effective method in feto-maternal surveillance in high-risk pregnancies and helps to improve feto-maternal outcome in high-risk pregnancies.

Keywords

Color Doppler, High-risk pregnancy

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Color Doppler Ultrasonography in High Risk Pregnancies