DOPPLER UMBILICAL VELOCIMETRY IN WOMEN WITH POLYDRUG ABUSE INCLUDING COCAINE

Doppler umbilical artery velocimetry was performed in 40 chemically dependent women. The mean S/D ratio was 2.7 with 15/66 values greater-than-or-equal-to 3.0. No cases of absent or reverse end-diastolic flow were noted. The mean S/D ratio in women with positive toxicologies for cocaine use was not statistically elevated compared to women with negative screens (2.8 versus 2.7, P = 0.51). In this study an S/D ratio greater-than-or-equal-to 3.0 had a sensitivity of 40% for identifying intrauterine growth retardation with a positive predictive value of 20%.