Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Jun 6, 2024; 12(16): 2745-2750
Published online Jun 6, 2024. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v12.i16.2745
Relationship between ultrasound parameters of the umbilical and middle cerebral arteries and intrauterine fetal distress
Ji Chen, Fei-Xue Liu, Rui-Xue Tao
Ji Chen, Rui-Xue Tao, Department of Obstetrics, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230061, Anhui Province, China
Fei-Xue Liu, Anhui Medical University, First Clinical School of Medium,Class 2021,Clinical Medicine, Hefei 230032, Anhui Province, China
Author contributions: Chen J and Liu FX contributed equally to this work; Chen J, Liu XF and Tao RX designed the research study, analyzed the data and wrote the manuscript, performed the research; Chen J and Tao RX analyzed the data and wrote the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: This study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Committee of The Third Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University.
Informed consent statement: All study participants or their legal guardian provided informed written consent about personal and medical data collection prior to study enrolment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Rui-Xue Tao, MMed, Chief Physician, Department of Obstetrics, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, No. 390 Huaihe Road, Luyang District, Hefei 230061, Anhui Province, China. benhuan796438653@163.com
Received: February 21, 2024
Revised: April 6, 2024
Accepted: April 12, 2024
Published online: June 6, 2024
Processing time: 98 Days and 3.4 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

By comprehensively analyzing the blood flow parameters of the umbilical and middle cerebral arteries, doctors can more accurately identify fetal intrauterine distress, as well as assess its severity, so that timely interventions can be implemented to safeguard the health and safety of the fetus.

AIM

To identify the relationship between ultrasound parameters of the umbilical and middle cerebral arteries and intrauterine distress.

METHODS

Clinical data of pregnant women admitted between January 2021 and January 2023 were collected and divided into the observation and control groups (n = 50 each), according to the presence or absence of intrauterine distress. The ultrasound hemodynamic parameters of the uterine artery (UtA), fetal middle cerebral artery (MCA), and umbilical artery (UmA) were compared with neonatal outcomes and occurrence of intrauterine distress in the two groups.

RESULTS

Comparison of ultrasonic hemodynamic parameters, resistance index (RI), pulsatility index (PI), and systolic maximal blood flow velocity of UmA compared to diastolic blood flow velocity (S/D), revealed higher values of fetal MCA, PI, and S/D of UmA in pregnant women with UtA compared to controls (P < 0.05), while there was no difference between the two groups in terms of RI (P < 0.05) The incidence of a neonatal Apgar score of 8-10 points was lower in the observation group (66.7%) than in the control group (90.0%), and neonatal weight (2675.5 ± 27.6 g) was lower than in the control group (3117.5 ± 31.2 g). Further, cesarean section rate was higher in the observation group (70.0%) than in the control group (11.7%), and preterm labor rate was higher in the observation group (40.0%) than in the control group (10.0%). The incidence of fetal distress, neonatal growth restriction and neonatal asphyxia were also higher in the observation group (all P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Fetal MCA, UmA, and maternal UtA hemodynamic abnormalities all develop in pregnant women with intrauterine distress during late pregnancy, which suggests that clinical attention should be paid to them, and monitoring should be strengthened to provide guidance for clinical intervention.

Keywords: Late pregnancy; Fetal intrauterine distress; Ultrasound blood flow parameters; Uterine artery; Middle cerebral artery; Umbilical artery

Core Tip: Monitoring these ultrasound parameters is particularly important in high-risk pregnancies such as umbilical cord bypass, fetal growth restriction, or multiple pregnancies.