Correlation between prenatal velocity waveforms in the aortic isthmus and neurodevelopmental outcome between the ages of 2 and 4 years

• Published in: American journal of obstetrics and gynecology Vol. 184; no. 4; pp. 630 - 636
• Main Authors: Fouron, Jean-Claude, Gosselin, Julie, Amiel-Tison, Claudine, Infante-Rivard, Claire, Fouron, Catherine, Skoll, Amanda, Veilleux, Annie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia, PA Elsevier Inc 01-03-2001; Elsevier
• Subjects: Aorta - diagnostic imaging; Aorta - embryology; Aorta - physiology; Aortic isthmus; Biological and medical sciences; Birth Weight; Blood Flow Velocity; Child, Preschool; Diseases of mother, fetus and pregnancy; Doppler; Female; Fetal Growth Retardation; Gestational Age; Gynecology. Andrology. Obstetrics; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Infant, Premature; Laser-Doppler Flowmetry; Male; Medical sciences; Nervous System - growth & development; Nervous System Diseases - epidemiology; neurodevelopment; Neurologic Examination; placental insufficiency; Pregnancy; Pregnancy. Fetus. Placenta; Retrospective Studies; Ultrasonography; Umbilical Arteries; Aortic isthmus; neurodevelopment; placental insufficiency; Doppler; Sonography; Doppler ultrasound study; Human; Psychomotor development; Prognosis; Pregnancy disorders; Retrograde; Placental insufficiency; Infant; Umbilical artery; Placenta diseases; Prenatal; Anterograde; Cohort study; Risk factor; Aorta; Fetus; Influence; Flow velocity; Hemodynamics; Oxygenation; Brain (vertebrata)
• ISSN: 0002-9378; 1097-6868
• DOI: 10.1067/mob.[phone]

Objective: Experimental studies on fetal lambs have shown that during an increase in the resistance to placental flow the delivery of oxygen to the brain is preserved as long as net flow through the aortic isthmus is antegrade. Our purpose was to determine whether the same changes in aortic isthmus flow in human subjects have any impact on neurodevelopmental outcome. Study Design: Forty-four fetuses were retrospectively included in this study on the basis of an abnormal Doppler velocity in the umbilical artery. Mean gestational age at delivery was 33.0 ± 2.0 weeks and mean birth weight 1386 ± 435 g. The neurodevelopmental condition was assessed between the ages of 2 and 4 years. The developmental score was analyzed in relation to the flow patterns in the fetal aortic isthmus, which were classified as follows: group A, net isthmic flow antegrade (defined as the ratio of the systolic antegrade to the diastolic retrograde velocity integrals) (n = 39); group B, net isthmic flow retrograde (n = 5). Results: Nonoptimal neurodevelopment was observed in 19 (49%) of 39 fetuses in group A and in all 5 fetuses (100%) in group B. This difference is significant and leads to a relative risk of 2.05 (95% confidence interval, 1.49-2.83) for neurodevelopmental deficit when predominantly retrograde flow is observed in the fetal aortic isthmus before birth. Conclusion: Measuring the ratio of antegrade to retrograde velocity integrals in the aortic isthmus could help in the indirect assessment of cerebral oxygenation during placental circulatory insufficiency. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 2001;184:630-6.)