The Ability of Doppler Uterine Artery Ultrasound to Predict Premature Birth.

Objective: Demonstration of the predictive capacity of Doppler Uterine Artery (UtA) on preterm birth (PB) by serial measurement at various ages of pregnancy.

Methods: The prospective study included a group of 116 pregnant women, of whom 85 gave birth prematurely and 31 pregnant women gave birth at term, constituting the control group. UtA Doppler measurement was performed by the abdominal approach. Quantitative wave evaluations were performed by the pulsatility index (PI), the systole/diastole ratio (S/D), as well as the qualitative analysis of the flow rate waveform (notch). UtA Doppler evaluation was performed in 3 pregnancy periods: 18.0-22.6 weeks, 28.0-31.6 weeks, and 32.0-35.6 weeks.

Results: Only at the third examination, at 32.0-35.5 weeks of gestation, was there a statistically significant difference between the S/D-UtA ratio and PI-UtA correlated with the risk of premature birth (p<0.05). Although there was an association between UtA Doppler and late preterm birth, the predictive ability was low. Also, UtA Doppler was not statistically significant for preterm birth before 32 weeks of gestation.

Conclusions: Although we did not find a statistical association between second-trimester UtA Doppler and preterm birth, we do suggest a closer look at women with abnormal UtA Doppler in the second trimester. We believe that, according to the results obtained, UtA Doppler can predict especially iatrogenic premature birth depending on the prediction of the most severe complications, severe preeclampsia, and SGA.