Clinical significance of Doppler velocimetry and oligohydramnios in intrauterine growth restriction

Objective: The aim of this study is to prove the clinical significance by evaluating pregnancy outcomes from intrauterine growth restriction using waves of the Doppler velocimetry of uterine and umbilical artery and amniotic fluid index. Methods: Throughout the period of January 2000 to May 2005 at our hospital, we reviewed 127 cases diagnosed with intrauterine growth restriction after 24 weeks of pregnancy and the existences of diastolic notch of uterine artery (DNUT), absent or reversed end-diastolic velocity of umbilical artery (AEDV) and oligohydramnios were considered abnormal. We set the group that had no abnormal signs as the control group (62 cases), and respectively compared the groups that had oligohydramnios (24 cases), unilateral DNUT (27 cases), bilateral DNUT (10 cases) and AEDV (13 cases) with the control group. And we compared the groups that had only one abnormal sign, that is oligohydramnios (20 cases), bilateral DNUT (7 cases), AEDV (7 cases) and the group showing 2 or more complicated abnormal signs those above (9 cases) with the control group. Results: Perinatal outcomes such as preterm birth, low birth weight, lower 5-min Apgar score (A/S), neonatal acidosis, admission rate of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and perinatal mortality were poor statistically in groups with DNUT, AEDV and oligohydramnios compared to those which have none of these abnormal signs. And those with DNUT had worse results when affected on both sides. And those with AEDV showed worse perinatal outcomes compared to those with bilateral DNUT or oligohydramnios; any overlapping of these abnormal signs indicated worse perinatal outcomes, which had statistic significance. Conclusion: Close observation of the fetal well-being by analysis on the wave velocimetry of the blood flow such as the uterine arteries and umbilical arteries and the measurement of the amniotic fluid volume enables predicting the perinatal prognosis of the intrauterine-growth restricted fetuses which may contribute in reducing the perinatal morbidity and mortality.