Background: Pre-eclampsia (PE) is associated with a high rate of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality, so its prediction has a tremendous impact on its management.
Objectives: To evaluate the role of uterine artery Doppler indices in the prediction of pre-eclampsia during the first trimester of pregnancy.
Patients and methods: During the early stages of their pregnancies, 60 expectant mothers received early pregnancy care at South Valley University Hospital between weeks 9 and 11. Assessments included clinical exams, medical history, lab tests, abdominal ultrasound, and uterine artery Doppler scans at 9, 11, and 18 weeks.
Results: The mean age of patients was 24.8 ± 3.4 years, with a mean body mass index (BMI) of 24 ± 2.3 kg/m2. There were 13 patients (23.6%) with PE; out of them, 9 patients had a severe form of PE, and 42 patients (76.4%) had no PE. Doppler flow study of the uterine artery at 9–11 and 18 weeks showed statistically significant (p-value<0.05) increased left and right uterine artery pulsatility index (PI) and residence index (RI) in patients with PE (1.17±0.33) when compared with patients without PE (0.95±0.28), and there was a highly statistically significant (p-value<0.05) increased percentage of presence of notch in patients with PE (7 patients, 53.8%) when compared with patients without PE.
Conclusion: We found statistically significant increases in uterine artery PI and RI in patients with PE when compared with patients without PE. The presence of notch in the uterine artery wave is highly predictive for development of preeclampsia.