Color Doppler imaging of the uteroplacental circulation in the first trimester: value in predicting pregnancy failure or complication.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to determine the utility of color duplex Doppler sonography of the uteroplacental circulation in predicting the outcome of first-trimester gestations.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

One hundred women with viable pregnancies of 7 to 12 weeks' gestational age were prospectively evaluated. Color Doppler imaging was used to identify the location of blood flow within the uteroplacental circulation, and spectral Doppler imaging was used to analyze waveforms obtained from the decidual spiral arteries.

RESULTS

Abnormal color Doppler findings were associated with a significantly higher prevalence of complicated pregnancies. Among women with abnormal Doppler findings, 12 (43%) of 28 pregnancies ended in miscarriage, whereas among women with normal findings only one (1.4%) of 72 women miscarried (p < .005).

CONCLUSIONS

This study indicates that abnormal blood flow patterns of the early uteroplacental circulation are associated with an increased prevalence of pregnancy complications and that color Doppler imaging may be used to predict pregnancy outcome.