The role of Doppler evaluation of the uterine artery in girls around puberty

Background. Presently, the only sonographic parameters used to follow puber ty in girls are size and morphology of the uterus and ovaries. Doppler of t he uterine artery appears a useful complementary parameter to follow pubert y. Objective. To determine the potential contribution of Doppler evaluation of the uterine artery in girls around puberty. Materials and methods. We investigated 61 healthy female volunteers aged 2- 15 years (mean 10.3 years). In each girl we performed a standard pelvic tra nsabdominal US examination, including measurement of the uterus and ovaries . Uterine arteries were visualized by colour Doppler and a pulsed signal wa s obtained in each patient. The blood flow velocity waveform. was analysed and the pulsatility index (Pl) was calculated. Growth of the uterus and ova ries was plotted against age, and the PI was compared to each of the other studied variables (age, size of uterus, volume of ovaries). Results. We observed a strong negative correlation between the PI of the ut erine artery and the usually studied variables. We also observed a progress ive modification of the Doppler signal pattern of the uterine artery during the establishment of puberty: the narrow systolic flow waves found in prep ubertal girls were progressively replaced by a systolic-diastolic flow wave . Conclusions. The demonstration of diastolic flow can confirm the onset of p uberty.