The clinical value of blood flow parameters of the umbilical artery and middle cerebral artery for assessing fetal distress.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical value of blood flow parameters of the umbilical artery (UA) and middle cerebral artery (MCA) for gauging fetal distress. METHODS: This study was conducted among 256 pregnant women who presented for routine prenatal checkups and successfully gave birth in our hospital from January 2018 to February 2020. These pregnant women were examined with the Color Doppler Ultrasound, and the color Doppler flow imaging (CDFI) showed the blood flow of the UA and MCA. In accordance with the diagnostic criteria of fetal distress, they were divided into a fetal distress group (n=67) and a control group (n=189). The receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed on the diagnostic value of the flow in the UA and MCA. According to their pregnancy outcomes, they were divided into a good pregnancy outcome group (n=209) and an adverse pregnancy outcome group (n=47), and their blood flow parameters of the UA and MCA were compared. RESULTS: The S/D, PI, and RI values of the UA in the fetal distress group exceeded those in the control group, and the S/D, PI, and RI values of the MCA were lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). The good pregnancy outcome group had lower S/D, PI, and RI values of the UA. The good pregnancy outcome group had higher S/D, PI, and RI values of the MCA (P<0.05). ROC curves revealed that the areas under curve of S/D, PI, and RI of the UA were 0.81, 0.76 and 0.74, respectively; the areas under curve of S/D, PI, and RI of the MCA were 0.82, 0.78 and 0.71, respectively. CONCLUSION: The hemodynamic indexes of the UA and MCA can be used as a basis for evaluating fetal distress, which shows important clinical indications for gauging pregnancy outcome.