[Effects of active and passive smoking during pregnancy on the blood flow in uterine artery in third trimester of pregnancy].

The aim of the study was to evaluate the influence of active and passive maternal tobacco smoking on the parameters of blood flow in the uterine arteries in the third trimester. of pregnancy. The study was performed among 96 pregnant women in a single full-term pregnancy in the third trimester of pregnancy. A questionnaire assessing the status of the concentration of nicotine and nicotine metaboliteotinine in the serum of pregnant. The plasma was extracted technique of liquid-liquid, and then performed laboratory assays using high performance liquid chromatography with spectrophotometric detection using norepinephrine as an internal standard. Based on the concentration of cotinine and interview patients were assigned to three groups: Group 1--patients smoking cigarettes during the entire pregnancy (23), group 2--patients exposed to environmental tobacco smoking (30) and a control group 3--nonsmokers and patients unexposed to passive smoking (43). In the third trimester of pregnancy blood flow in the uterine arteries was performed using "B-mode" technique with function of spectral Doppler. We analized the pulsatility index and resistance index in both uterine arteries, the presence of the indent diastolic "notch" and the scale of the uterine arteries. There were no statistically significant differences with regards to pulsatility index and index of resistance in blood flow in the uterine arteries in different groups of patients. The presence of the indent diastolic "notch" was significantly more frequent among active smokers, compared to women passively exposed to tobacco smoke and non-smoking women (39.1% vs. 20% vs. 4.6%; p = 0.012). The values in the scale of uterine arteries showed no significant difference between groups. Both active and passive smoking had no significant effect on the blood flow in uterine artery in pregnant women in the third trimester of pregnancy.