REPRODUCIBILITY OF FETAL CARDIAC FLOW VELOCITY WAVE-FORMS AT ATRIOVENTRICULAR LEVEL

Reproducibility of flow velocity waveform recording and analysis was studied at fetal atrioventricular level (mitral and tricuspid valve) in 25 normal pregnancies. The flow velocity parameters studied were peak-E wave velocity, peak-A wave velocity and time-averaged velocity. In each patient, two consecutive measurements were performed (time delay, 15 min) and of each measurement two hardcopies were analyzed. A high reproducibility was achieved for all parameters studied; the coefficients of variation between readings of hardcopies were less-than-or-equal-to 2% and the coefficients of variation between tests within patients were less-than-or-equal-to 4%.