Intra-equipment analysis of the resistance and pulsatility of fetal umbilical and middle cerebral arteries

Abstract

Purpose: to evaluate the intra-equipment reproducibility of color Doppler analysis of the Resistance and Pulsatility Indices of the umbilical and fetal middle cerebral arteries. Method: The study with a group of 40 pregnant patients with gestational age between 28 and 39 weeks, from the municipal health network of Ribeirão Preto and region seen at the Ultrasound and Medical Recycling School of Ribeirão Preto in collaboration with the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics of the Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo (FMRP-USP) was used to investigate the intra-equipment reproducibility. A total of 400 analyses were performed. DISCUSSION: MGS presents a classic triad of occipital encephalocele, multicystic kidneys and polydactyly. Of these, only the first two were observed in the fetal examination. The syndrome is lethal, with median survival less than 24 h, and those affected may be born dead, as was the case in this study. Results: the study was analyzed using the intraclass interval coefficient. Almost all analyses performed in this group differed from 1 and therefore did not present good reproducibility. Conclusion: On the basis of these results, we contributed to the study of Doppler analysis of fetal circulation, emphasizing the need for repeated measurements and for rigorous care when the fetal circulation is analyzed considering the numerical values of the Resistance and Pulsatility Indices of the umbilical and middle cerebral arteries of the fetus.