Factors associated with uterine artery Doppler anomalies in patients with preeclampsia.

UNLABELLED: Uterine artery Doppler anomalies are associated with unfavorable outcomes in women with preeclampsia.

OBJECTIVES

To examine the association between abnormal uterine artery Doppler and severity of preeclampsia.

STUDY

DESIGN

Retrospective analysis of a population of 287 patients with preeclampsia who underwent a uterine artery Doppler velocimetric examination at the onset of preeclampsia, between 1996 and 2002. The population was classified into three groups: Group I had normal uterine artery Doppler findings; Group II had a high uterine artery resistance index; and, Group III had both high uterine artery resistance index and bilateral notches.

RESULTS

Compared to Group I, preeclampsia occurred earlier in Group II (76.3%) (p < 0.001), and HELLP syndrome was most frequent in Group III. The frequency of fetal growth restriction (pound 3(rd) percentile) was different between groups (19.1, 32.4 and 49.7% in groups I, II and III, respectively). The perinatal death rate was significantly higher in group III than the other two groups (12.8% vs 2.9%, p < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

In patients with preeclampsia, the presence of uterine artery Doppler anomalies (high resistance index with or without bilateral notches) was associated with unfavorable pregnancy outcomes.