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Subject Area

Endemic and Tropical Medicine

Article Type

Original Study

Abstract

Objective The objective of this study was to highlight the role of first-trimester uterine artery Doppler in the prediction of later pregnancy complication. Background Hypertensive disorders represent the second most common cause of maternal death, affecting 5–10% of pregnancies worldwide. Pre-eclampsia is believed to develop from inadequate trophoblast invasion of the maternal spiral arteries. Doppler imaging permits noninvasive evaluation of the uteroplacental circulation and is invaluable in the management of high-risk pregnancies. Patients and methods Convenience sampling allowed for the recruitment of 120 patients (11–14 weeks gestation) who attended the obstetric outpatient clinic and department at Menoufia University Hospital between March 2017 and April 2018. A complete record of 103 participants was available for the final analysis. Seventeen women were later excluded for the following reasons: four pregnancies miscarried, one pregnancy was complicated by intrauterine fetal death and, finally, 12 (10%) women did not give birth in our departments and were thus lost at follow-up. Results The results of this study revealed that six (6%) participants developed pre-eclampsia [four (66.6%) cases of the six patients had a pulsatility index value above the 95th centile, whereas two (33.4%) cases had pulsatility index values above the 50th centile]. Conclusion Uterine artery Doppler is promising. An ultrasound screening program in high-risk pregnant women would offer clinicians the opportunity to prevent the disease before it manifests clinically.

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