Peak systolic velocity Doppler of middle cerebral artery in small for gestational age (SGA) fetus

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Small for gestational age (SGA) has high frequency which increases the risk of long-term adverse outcomes. Thus the aim of this study was to evaluate peak systolic velocity Doppler of middle cerebral artery (MCA) in SGA fetus in order to find appropriate method to diagnosis SGA sooner.

MATERIALS and METHODS: This prospective longitudinal study was conducted on 90 pregnant women with a diagnosis of SGA fetus and 90 pregnant women with normal fetus. Then MCA and umbilical artery assessment were performed for all subjects and compared between two groups.

RESULTS: Doppler assessment showed that umbilical artery PI was significantly higher in SGA group as compared to normal group (1.11±0.37 vs 0.98±0.18, P = 0.003), while MCA PI was significantly lower in SGA group (1.77±0.44 vs 1.92±0.47, P = 0.028). On the other hand, PSV did not differ between the groups (P = 0.592). Moreover, we found that PSV was more in SGA group by grouping maternal age (<27 years) (P = 0.006), and gestational age (>34 weeks) (P<0.001).

CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that MCA PI decreased significantly in SGA fetuses, while UA PI increased in this group. Moreover, PSV increased in this group when evaluated in different subgroups (based on maternal age and gestational age).

Key words： small for gestational age; middle cerebral artery; peak systolic velocity

Acknowledgments

This study was financially supported by Technology and Research Development Department of Jundishapur Medical Sciences University, Ahvaz, South-west Iran. We gratefully acknowledge the dedicated efforts of the investigators, the coordinators, and the Clinical Research Development Units (CRDU) of Ahvaz Imam Hospital.

Compliance with ethical standards

The authors declared no conflict of interest. All procedures have been approved by the appropriate ethics committee and have therefore been performed inaccordance with the ethical standards laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments. Informed consent was signed prior to participation in the study.

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