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. 2021 Oct 19;13(10):e18888.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.18888. eCollection 2021 Oct.

Role of Doppler Waveforms in Pregnancy-Induced Hypertension and Its Correlation With Perinatal Outcome

Ranjumoni Konwar  1 , Bharati Basumatari  1 , Malamoni Dutta  2 , Putul Mahanta Sr  3 , Ankumoni Saikia  4 , Rashmi Uk  5
Affiliations

Role of Doppler Waveforms in Pregnancy-Induced Hypertension and Its Correlation With Perinatal Outcome

Ranjumoni Konwar et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Objectives The present study aims to measure the role of Doppler waveforms in pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) and its relationship with the perinatal outcome. Methods We have studied 50 pregnant women with PIH with gestational age (GA) 30-40 weeks for Umbilical Artery (UmA), Middle Cerebral Artery (MCA) and Uterine Artery (UtA) Doppler waveforms. Comparison between the various Doppler indices, i.e., Pulsatility Index (PI), Resistive Index (RI) and S/D ratio, with the severity of the disease and the perinatal outcomes were evaluated using appropriate statistical tests considering a threshold value of p-value <0.05 as significant. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version-16 (SPSS Inc, Chicago, USA) and MedCalc software (MedCalc Software Ltd, Ostend, Belgium) were used for data analysis. Results Half (50%) of the cases attributed to the 26 to 30 years age group were at 38 to 40 weeks of gestation. Out of the 50 patients, 68% were primigravida, and 74% had severe PIH. Mean UmA PI, mean MCA PI, mean MCA RI, and mean Cerebro Placental Ratio (CPR) were differed significantly among mild and severe PIH patients (p-value<0.05). Perinatal outcomes in 33 (66%) cases were adverse. The abnormal UmA RI, MCA RI, MCA PI, MCA S/D were significantly linked with poor pregnancy outcomes (p-value <0.05). PIH cases with the presence of early diastolic notch of UtA (p-value <0.01), abnormal PI CPR (p-value <0.001) and S/D CPR (p-value <0.003) were observed to have more adverse outcomes. PI CPR had the highest sensitivity (84.8%), and the existence of early diastolic notch of UtA and MCA-PI were most specific in diagnosing adverse perinatal outcomes. Conclusion CPR-PI is a valuable indicator of adverse perinatal outcomes in PIH. Doppler studies of multiple vessels may help manage high-risk pregnancies as it may provide helpful information about the fetus at risk of hypoxia and placental insufficiency.

Keywords: cerebro-placental ratio; middle cerebral artery; perinatal outcome; pregnancy-induced hypertension; umbilical artery.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Distribution of adverse outcomes among the pregnancy-induced hypertension cases
Figure 2
Figure 2. Perinatal mortality versus the end-diastolic flow of the umbilical artery
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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