Doppler assessment of uterine blood flow in recurrent pregnancy loss.

OBJECTIVE

To compare uterine artery pulsatility index (PI) and flow velocity wave (FVW) patterns between women with no history of abortion and women with recurrent pregnancy loss of unexplained cause.

METHOD

A cross-sectional study was conducted with 43 women with recurrent pregnancy loss and 43 women with no history of abortion and at least 1 child born at term (control group). Transvaginal ultrasonography with uterine artery Doppler evaluation was performed in the second phase of the menstrual cycle to calculate the PI and analyze the FVW pattern.

RESULTS

The women with recurrent pregnancy loss had a significantly higher uterine artery PI than those in the control group (2.71+/-0.54 and 2.30+/-0.44, respectively), as well as a higher incidence of FVWs of the A and B types.

CONCLUSION

Compared with the control group, a higher PI and a higher incidence of FVW of the A and B types--and thus a higher uterine artery impedance--were found among women with recurrent pregnancy loss.