Doppler Ultrasound Screening of the Uterine Arteries as a Predictor for Early Miscarriage

So far, there is no concrete consensus on using uterine Doppler measurements for predicting the adverse outcomes in the early stages of pregnancy between 6-14 weeks. Hence, the current study was planned to investigate the role of uterine artery Doppler in predicting the miscarriage in early pregnancy and to evaluate whether uterine artery Doppler indices abnormality is associated with a complicated pregnancy and adverse outcomes.

The present cross-sectional prospective study estimated the uterine artery Doppler of right and left uterine arteries and the mean of pulsatility index (PI), resistance index (RI), and systolic/diastolic (SD) ratio was obtained for each patient. The gestational age, at which the Doppler study was performed, was 6-14 weeks for all groups. Finally, the groups of normal and threatened miscarriage were followed up for the outcome up to 20 weeks of gestation.

There was a significant difference in the means of PI, RI, and S/D ratio among the three groups. However, PI was the only parameter which was significantly associated with the outcome of pregnancy. In addition, the cut-off value for PI was 2.64 at 91% sensitivity and 81% specificity for predicting miscarriage.

In general, uterine artery Doppler should be introduced as the routine screening test for identifying the women who could have an adverse pregnancy outcome for its effective management.