MATERNAL RENAL AND INTERLOBAR ARTERIES WAVE-FORMS EVALUATION WITH COLOR DOPPLER ULTRASOUND IN PREGNANCY-INDUCED HYPERTENSION

The authors performed a color Doppler ultrasound examination of both r enal and interlobar arteries of 15 pregnant women affected by pregnanc y-induced hypertension, The pulsatility index (PI), the resistance ind ex (RI) and the systolic/diastolic ratio (S/D) values were compared wi th those of 15 healthy pregnant women of the same gestational age and with those of 15 nonpregnant healthy women, The authors found a signif icant difference (p < 0.0001) for all parameters investigated in renal and interlobar arteries between healthy pregnant women and the other two groups. No difference was found between patients with pregnancy-in duced hypertension and nonpregnant healthy women. In conclusion, color Doppler ultrasound examination of both renal and interlobar arteries seems to be important for understanding the etiopathogenesis of pregna ncy-induced hypertension.