IS AN ABNORMAL DOPPLER UMBILICAL ARTERY WAVE-FORM RATIO A RISK FACTORFOR POOR PERINATAL OUTCOME IN THE NONSMALL FOR GESTATIONAL-AGE FETUS

To determine if abnormal umbilical artery velocimetry is associated wi th a higher rate of perinatal morbidity in pregnancies in which the ou tcome is not manifested by a small for gestational age (SGA) fetus, pe rinatal outcome was compared according to the results of Doppler umbil ical artery velocimetry. Doppler study was performed in 328 singleton pregnancies with non-SGA fetuses within 7 days of delivery. The preval ence of abnormal Doppler studies was 10%. Patients with abnormal umbil ical artery velocimetry had a significantly higher rate of complicatio ns, including cesarean section for fetal distress, preterm delivery, l ow Apgar scores, congenital anomalies, admission to the neonatal inten sive care unit, and perinatal death, than patients with a normal umbil ical artery velocimetry. Ten perinatal deaths were associated with maj or congenital anomalies. Moreover, in the absence of congenital anomal ies patients with abnormal Doppler results also had a significantly hi gher incidence of adverse perinatal outcome compared with patients wit h normal umbilical artery velocimetry. Our data suggest that even the non-SGA fetus with an abnormal Doppler umbilical artery waveform ratio is at increased risk for poor perinatal outcome.