Abstract
Objective : To establish the reference ranges of the middle cerebral artery pulsatility index ( MCA PI ) in normal fetuses between 20 and 37 weeks gestation.
Study design : A descriptive study.
Setting : Antenatal Care Clinic, Outpatient department, Faculty of Medicine, Srinagarind Hospital, Khon Kaen University.
Subjects : At least sixteen women of each gestational age with an uncomplicated singleton pregnancy between 20 and 37 weeks gestation.
Method : All recruited pregnant women were enrolled for abdominal Doppler ultrasonography to determine fetal MCA PI for each week of gestational age.
Main outcome measures : The MCA PI reference range for normal fetuses between 20 and 37 completed weeks of gestation.
Results : The MCA PI decreased as gestational age advanced from 1.97 (SD 0.48) at 20 weeks to 1.15 (SD 0.18) at 37 weeks.
Conclusion : We established the reference ranges of the fetal MCA PI for reference use in our Antenatal Care Clinic.
Keyword : Pulsatility index, Middle cerebral artery, Doppler ultrasound
|