[Survey of the availability and utilization of Doppler ultrasound in German-speaking areas].

The study was performed about the spread and usage of Doppler ultrasound measurements. Standardised questionnaires were sent to the obstetrical departments of 253 universities and teaching hospitals. 59% of the hospitals answered the questions. At the university departments, the method was used regularly. On the average twice the number of patients have been examined compared to the teaching hospitals. The obstetricians in the university departments were more experienced in safety determinations and quality control. Most of the university departments used their own norm curves. When measuring the resistance in the favoured vessels umbilical artery, middle cerebral artery and arcuate arteries, the resistance index (RI) was preferred to the pulsatility Index (PI) in both kinds of hospitals. The most severe pathological findings, zero and reverse flow, occurred with an incidence of more than 2% only in hospitals with less than 500 patients a year, indicating false positive results due to inexperienced physicians. Relevant software is not commercially available; therefore documentation and evaluation of the data was done manually in most of the departments. There are different opinions about the use of Doppler ultrasound as a screening test. However, Doppler ultrasound is seen as a valuable method for diagnosis of hypoxia especially in cases of intrauterine growth retardation and pregnancy-induced hypertension. In the year 2000 the method might be widely used in nearly every small hospital and even in offices. This development without adequate training of the obstetricians might result in a high incidence of false positive results.