Volume 24, Issue 101, January - February, 2020

Aortic Isthmus Color Doppler Indices in intrauterine Growth-Restricted Fetuses (A case control study)

Zahra Fardiazar¹, Masoumeh Favaedi^1♦, Asrin Babahajian², Simin Taghavi¹, Shamci Abbasalizadeh¹, Fatemeh Abbasalizadeh¹, Azadeh Azadi¹, Neda Shoari¹

¹Women's Reproductive Health Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
²Liver and Digestive Research Center, Research Institute for Health Development, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran

^♦Corresponding author
Women's Reproductive Health Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran Email: mfavaiedi@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

Background and purpose: Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) refers to a condition in which the fetus is smaller than expected owing to either intrinsic or environmental causes. IUGR monitoring is of great significance for determining the best delivery time and preventing fetal complications. Changes in the nature of blood in the Aortic isthmus (AoI) results in the hemodynamic disorders; the accurate monitoring of its indices conducted by a Doppler is highly useful in the clinical management of IUGR. Thus, the present study was conducted to investigate the color ultrasound indices of AoI Doppler in IUGR. Method: In the present study, as many as 61 pregnant women were divided into two groups; IUGR group (mothers with fetuses weighing less than 10th percentile for gestational age, n=30) and control group (mothers with fetuses weighing between 10th percentile to 90th percentile, n=31). After recording the demographic information and measuring the gestational age, the color Doppler of umbilical artery, middle cerebral artery, ductus venosus, and isthmus of aorta (including the investigation of criteria such as peak systolic (PSV), end-diastolic (EDV) and time averaged peak (TAPV) velocities, pulsatility index (PI), and resistance index (RI)), and the required comparison was conducted between the groups. Results: In IUGR fetuses, UA color Doppler was non-normal for 13 individuals (43.3%) and MCA color Doppler was non-normal for 8 cases (26.7%) (Two cases of them the DV Doppler was abnormal). There was no significant difference between the IUGR and control groups in terms of values of color Doppler indicators of isthmus of aorta. There was no significant difference between the IUGR and control groups in terms of comparing the color Doppler indicators of isthmus of aorta with the normal and abnormal umbilical artery Doppler. Moreover, no significant difference was observed between healthy fetuses and IUGR ones with normal and abnormal MCA Doppler. Conclusion: The results of the present study indicate that color Doppler sonography of AoI indices were not significantly different for IUGR fetuses and healthy ones. Thus, further studies are required for deciding on the usefulness of this too for the clinical monitoring and management of IUGR fetuses.

Keywords: color Doppler ultrasound, fetal aortic isthmus, intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR).

Medical Science, 2020, 24(101), 37-46

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