The importance of evaluation of fetal vitality through Doppler in high-risk pregnancies

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To verify the sensitivity of Doppler ultrasound as an effective method for assessing fetal vitality in high-risk pregnancies. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A review of articles from the SciELO, PubMed and Cochrane databases was carried out using the following keywords: fetal vitality, Doppler ultrasound and fetal distress. Sixteen articles were rescued between the years 2000 and 2017 in the English and Portuguese languages. RESULTS: It was evidenced that Doppler ultrasound has the advantage of early detection of fetal impairment, reducing the need for hospital admission, labor induction and perinatal mortality. However, it is not yet known to what changes in Doppler the fetus supports without any repercussions on health, making it difficult for the medical decision on the correct time to interrupt gestation. CONCLUSIONS: It is concluded, therefore, that the monitoring of fetal well-being is of fundamental importance to prevent the death of the concept. In addition, studies have shown that the use of Doppler ultrasound in these cases is associated not only with the decrease in perinatal mortality, but also with the reduction in hospital admission.