The volume of the chorion villosum is associated with the location of the umbilical cord in the first trimester

First-trimester measurements of the three-dimensional ultrasound placental volume and uterine artery Doppler in early- and late-onset fetal growth restriction

Objectives: To clarify whether early-onset fetal growth restriction (EO-FGR) could be distinguished from late-onset (LO)-FGR using ultrasonographic evaluations of the uterine artery (UtA) Doppler indices and the three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound placental volume (PV) in the first trimester.Methods: Subjects with 1362 singleton pregnancies who underwent an ultrasound scan at 11-13 weeks were enrolled prospectively. The UtA Doppler and PV indices in cases with EO-FGR (<32 weeks at diagnosis) and LO-FGR (≥32 weeks at diagnosis) later in pregnancy were compared with the control group.Results: Twenty-eight EO-FGR, 73 LO-FGR, and 1261 control groups were analyzed. The crown-rump length (CRL) and PV were smaller in both EO and LO-FGR groups than in the control group. The UtA resistance index (RI) Z-score was significantly higher in the EO-FGR group than in the control group (0.723 versus 0.086, p < .001), but did not differ between LO-FGR and the control group. The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve for the prediction of EO-FGR by combining the uterine artery resistance index (UtA-RI) and CRL was 0.760 (95% CI: 0.654-0.865). The detection rate for EO-FGR was 45.8%, with a 10% false-positive rate.Conclusions: Both EO- and LO-FGR are associated with a small CRL in the first trimester. High UtA-RI is associated with EO-FGR, while a small maternal height and PV are associated with LO-FGR.

Prediction of early- and late-onset pregnancy-induced hypertension using placental volume on three-dimensional ultrasound and uterine artery Doppler

OBJECTIVES

To determine whether uterine artery (UtA) Doppler findings and three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound measurement of placental volume during the first trimester allowed prediction of early- and late-onset pregnancy-induced hypertension (early PIH and late PIH).

METHODS

Subjects with singleton pregnancy who underwent an ultrasound scan at 11-13 weeks' gestation and delivered between 2011 and 2013 were enrolled prospectively into the study. The UtA Doppler indices and placental volume on 3D ultrasound at 11-13 weeks' gestation in cases that developed early PIH (< 34 weeks) or PIH later in pregnancy (≥ 34 weeks) were compared with values in unaffected pregnancies.

RESULTS

Ten cases of early PIH, 67 cases of late PIH and 1285 unaffected pregnancies were analyzed. The UtA pulsatility index (PI) was higher in cases of early PIH than that in unaffected pregnancies (median, 2.35 vs. 1.79; P = 0.043) but did not differ between cases of late PIH and unaffected pregnancies. Placental volume was smaller in cases of early PIH than that in unaffected pregnancies (median, 43 cm3 vs. 62 cm(3) ; P = 0.003) but did not differ between cases of late PIH and unaffected pregnancies. The area under the receiver-operating characteristics curve for the prediction of early PIH, by combining UtA-PI and placental volume, was 0.832 (95% CI, 0.742-0.921), with this combination providing a detection rate for early PIH of 67.5% for a 5% false-positive rate.

CONCLUSIONS

High UtA-PI and small placental volume were observed more often in cases of early PIH compared with unaffected pregnancies, but not in cases of late PIH. These results may indicate that there are differences in pathophysiology between early PIH and late PIH.