Continuous-wave Doppler investigation of uteroplacental vessels in high-risk pregnancies as predictor of fetal growth retardation and pregnancy-induced hypertension.

Continuous-wave Doppler sonography of uteroplacental vessels and the umbilical artery was used as an additive method in the management of risk pregnancies. Its major advantage lies in permitting noninvasive access to placental perfusion. In a sample of 650 singleton pregnancies considered at risk, flow patterns of the right and left uterine and arcuate arteries and of the umbilical artery were obtained. Increased resistance in uteroplacental circulation alone (90th percentile of resistance index and/or notching) was seen in 62 of 100 patients with confirmed growth retardation, proving the key role played by uteroplacental perfusion disorders. Early diastolic notching as well as incomplete vascular flow patterns were also found significantly more often in the growth-retarded group compared to the controls, especially in pregnancies additionally beset by hypertensive disorders. Doppler study of both utero- and fetoplacental circulation increased the sensitivity to 76% in pregnancies with intrauterine growth retardation, and to 90% in those cases with an additional risk of pregnancy-induced hypertension, while the false-positive rate (100-specificity) remained acceptable (17%).