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Reference values for Doppler velocimetric indices from the fetal and placental ends of the umbilical artery during normal pregnancy
Author(s) -
Sonesson SvenErik,
Fouron JeanClaude,
Drblik Susan Pamela,
Tawile Carolin,
Lessard Ma,
Skoll Amanda,
Guertin M. C.,
Ducharme G. R.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
journal of clinical ultrasound
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.272
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1097-0096
pISSN - 0091-2751
DOI - 10.1002/jcu.1870210505
Subject(s) - medicine , umbilical artery , fetus , umbilical cord , ultrasound , placenta , diastole , percentile , doppler effect , pregnancy , cardiology , obstetrics , gynecology , anatomy , blood pressure , radiology , statistics , genetics , physics , mathematics , astronomy , biology
Abstract A range‐gated Doppler ultrasound system combined with a real‐time imaging system was used to determine arterial blood velocity values from the fetal and placental ends of the umbilical cord in 269 normal pregnancies between 17 and 40 weeks, menstrual age. The systolic–diastolic ratio (S/D), pulsatility index (PI), and resistance index (RI) were higher at the fetal end compared to the placental end of the cord. The individual differences in these Doppler indices, obtained between the fetal and placental recording sites, were inversely related to menstrual age: S/D: r = −0.38, p < 0.001; PI: r = −0.25, p < 0.001; and RI: r = −0.15, p < 0.01. After normalization for the angle of insonation, the peak systolic velocity was higher and the enddiastolic velocity was lower at the fetal than at the placental end of the cord. It is concluded that routine recordings for Doppler velocimetric indices should take into account the recording site on the umbilical cord in order to reduce methodological sources of variance, especially during midgestation. Furthermore, the data presented here in the form of the median and percentile values are proposed as normal reference values to facilitate this procedure. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.