Funding sources: W. S. was supported by an unrestricted research grant from the Sociedad Profesional de Medicina Fetal “Fetalmed” Limitada, Chile.
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Original Article
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First-trimester uterine artery Doppler velocimetry in the prediction of birth weight in a low-risk population
Article first published online: 7 DEC 2012
DOI: 10.1002/pd.3997
© 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Additional Information
How to Cite
Sarmiento, A., Casasbuenas, A., Rodriguez, N., Angarita, A. M., Sarmiento, P. and Sepulveda, W. (2013), First-trimester uterine artery Doppler velocimetry in the prediction of birth weight in a low-risk population. Prenat. Diagn., 33: 21–24. doi: 10.1002/pd.3997
Conflicts of interest: None declared
Publication History
- Issue published online: 7 JAN 2013
- Article first published online: 7 DEC 2012
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ABSTRACT
Objective
To study the relationship between first-trimester uterine artery (UtA) Doppler velocimetry and birth weight in an unselected, low-risk obstetric population.
Methods
This is a prospective study of 415 low-risk pregnant women who underwent a first-trimester ultrasound evaluation between 11 and 13 weeks of gestation. Blood flow velocimetry waveforms from both UtAs were obtained and the pulsatility index (PI) measured and recorded. Clinical records were reviewed for pregnancy outcomes. Birth weight was expressed as z-scores, and the Spearman correlation coefficient (ρ) was used to calculate the relationship between the mean, delta, and lowest UtA PI values and birth weight.
Results
There was no correlation between the mean and delta UtA PI values and birth weight. However, a significant correlation between the lowest UtA PI value and birth weight (ρ = −0.121; p = 0.013) was noted.
Conclusions
Our study found a clinically significant correlation between the lowest UtA PI value and birth weight in an unselected, low-risk pregnant population. Because fetal growth is a multifactorial process in which placentation is only one of the factors involved, the use of a single parameter such as Doppler velocimetry remote from the delivery to predict birth weight in a low-risk population seems to be less useful than in the high-risk population. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.