UMBILICAL ARTERY DOPPLER VELOCIMETRY CLASSES AND FETAL-OUTCOME

Objective: The purpose of this investigation was to correlate normal and different grades of abnormal umbilical artery Doppler findings with parameters that characterize perinatal outcome. Methods: Umbilical artery Doppler flow studies were performed with pulsed Doppler equipment. These results were not available to the clinicians managing the patients. Obtained Doppler results, evaluated by the resistance index, were classified into normal and abnormal results according to our established normal values. The abnormal values were then subdivided into blood flow classes (BFC) 3, 4, and 5 and the correlation between class and outcome parameters was calculated. Results: All parameters of perinatal outcome, except acidemia, were related to the blood flow class. Furthermore, increasing resistance to blood flow was associated with an increasing deterioration of outcome parameters. Conclusion: These data suggest that the perinatal risk varies with normal and differing grades of abnormal umbilical artery flow velocity waveforms. This fact should be important for further improvement of perinatal care.