Objectives: To assess the role of uterine artery Doppler done between 12 – 20 weeks pregnancy in prediction of preeclampsia and associated adverse outcomes.
Material and Methods: The study was designed as prospective observational case control study.100 pregnant patients were selected from the maternity hospital outpatient with Doppler ultrasound done in fetal medicine unit by a consultant, only 92 patients completed their antenatal follow up. The participants then were allocated into two groups, one group with abnormal uterine artery indices (n=6) and the other group with normal uterine artery indices (n=86). The two groups were compared regarding development of preeclampsia, fetal growth restriction, oligohydraminos and NICU admissions.
Results: Among the 92 patients who completed their follow up period, of the 6 patients with abnormal uterine artery indices 4 developed preeclampsia, two of which had fetal growth restriction. While in the group with normal Doppler indices, no maternal or fetal complications developed.
Conclusion: Screening with Doppler and especially inclusion of an early diastolic notch is a good predictive test of preeclampsia. The test offers a good sensitivity in the prediction of preeclampsia, it is also a good negative test and thus it can exclude cases that don't need frequent examination. This may allow more appropriate targeting of antenatal care.