ASSESSMENT OF THE FETOMATERNAL CIRCULATION IN THREATENED-ABORTION BY TRANSVAGINAL COLOR DOPPLER

Transvaginal color Doppler was used to investigate blood flow in the f etomaternal circulation of 60 women with threatened abortion and 90 wo men with normal intrauterine pregnancy. The obtained Doppler sonograms were analyzed and the resistance index (RI) was calculated in the mat ernal circulation, while in the fetal circulation the pulsatility inde x (PI) was used. There was no significant difference in the RI values of the maternal circulation between women with normal pregnancies and pregnancies complicated by bleeding, but with normal pregnancy outcome (p > 0.05). No differences in RI values of the uterine, arcuate and r adial arteries were found between pregnancies with threatened abortion and normal pregnancy outcome and women with abnormal outcome (p > 0.0 5). In 9 of 21 women with visible retrochorionic hematoma, the RI of t he spiral arteries was higher on the hematoma side in comparison to th e opposite side (p < 0.01). This could be a consequence of the mechani cal compression caused by the hematoma. In 3 of 4 cases of missed abor tion, the RI of the spiral arteries was lower in comparison to the con trol group. Such findings could be caused by the vasodilatating produc ts of inflammation which probably exist in such areas. There was no si gnificant difference in terms of the PI of fetal blood vessels between normal pregnancy and threatened abortions with normal outcome, as wel l as between threatened abortions with normal outcome and subsequent a bortions of live fetuses (p > 0.05).