Uterine Artery Pulsatility Index as a Pre-eclampsia Predictor in the 3 Trimesters in Women with Singleton Pregnancies

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the mean uterine artery pulsatility index (UtAPI) in each trimester of pregnancy as a predictor of early or late pre-eclampsia (PE) in Colombian pregnant women. Methods The UtAPI was measured in singleton pregnancies in each trimester. Uterine artery pulsatility index as predictor of PE was evaluated by odds ratio (OR), receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, and Kaplan-Meier diagram. Results Analysis in the 1 stand 3 rdtrimester showed that abnormal UtAPI was associated with early PE (OR: 5.99: 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.64-21.13; and OR: 10.32; 95%CI: 2.75-42.49, respectively). Sensitivity and specificity were 71.4 and 79.6%, respectively, for developing PE (area under the curve [AUC]: 0.922). The Kaplan-Meier curve showed that a UtAPI of 0.76 (95%CI: 0.58-1.0) in the 1 sttrimester was associated with early PE, and a UtAPI of 0.73 (95%CI: 0.55-0.97) in the 3 rdtrimester was associated with late PE. Conclusion Uterine arteries proved to be a useful predictor tool in the 1 stand 3 rdtrimesters for early PE and in the 3 rdtrimester for late PE in a pregnant population with high prevalence of PE.