Abstract
M.Tech. (Radiography)
Monitoring the growth and wellbeing of the foetus is a major purpose of antenatal care.
The use of diagnostic ultrasound to assess foetal wellbeing has become an important
part of prenatal care in both low and high risk pregnancies.
Pre-eclampsia and foetal growth restriction (FGR) remains important causes of
maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity. Pre-eclampsia is characterised by an
abnormal vascular response to placentation and is a multisystem disorder of unknown
cause specific to pregnancy which affects the health of both mother and fetus.
Prep-eclampsia complicates between 2 and B % of all pregnancies and is the second
most common cause of maternal deaths in the developing world.
The aim of this study was to assess the sensitivity of uterine artery spectral Doppler
screening in the prediction of pregnancies with a high risk of developing pre-eclampsia
or FGR before the clinical onset of the disease. The research objectives were to:
1) Determine the sensitivity of first and second trimester uterine artery spectral
Doppler assessment in predicting pre-eclampsia or FGR
Identify associations between normal and abnormal uterine artery Doppler
waveforms and pregnancy outcomes.
2) Determine the most effective Doppler indices
3) Develop ultrasound management guidelines
The data was statistically analyzed to determine the sensitivity of uterine artery Doppler
screening.
In this study uterine artery Doppler screening performed well. in the risk assessment of
the most severe cases of pre-eclampsia and FGR. A larger prospective multicenter trial
in South Africa is long overdue and therefore a follow-up study to assess Doppler as a
screening tool in a high risk population, as per the guidelines formulated.