Does the placental strain ratio correlate with the umbilical artery Doppler values

Abstract

Does the placental strain ratio correlate with the umbilical artery Doppler values? E. Ertekin 1 , Ö. Tunçyürek 1 , S. Kafkas 2 , Y. Özsunar 1 1Department of Radiology, 2Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Adnan Menderes University, Aydın (Turkey) Summary Objective: The aim of this study is to reveal whether there is any relationship between strain elastography (SE) values and Doppler ultrasonography (US) findings, and to investigate the availability of SE in early diagnosis of preeclampsia (PE). Material and Methods: The authors examined 21-24 week old patients who applied to this clinic for anomaly screening. Only 55 pregnant women with anterior or anterolateral placental placement were included in the study. Doppler US data and placental strain elastography values were compared statistically. Results: There was an inverse correlation between umbilical artery resistance index (RI) values and placental strain ratios. Discussion: Histopathological examination shows that, as a result of the increasing extracellular matrix proteins due to increased inflammation, elasticity in the placental tissue decreases, and this may lead to an increase in placental stiffness. Also it is known that, abnormal Doppler US findings are considered to be a weak positive predictor of placental insufficiency. Therefore the present authors compared Doppler US with placental elastography and found an inverse correlation between umbilical artery RI value and placental strain ratio. Conclusion: Placental elasticity can be used for placental abnormalities in addition to other methods, but further studies are needed to use placental elasticity as a positive predictive marker for placental insufficiency. Key words: Placental elastography; Doppler US; Placental insufficiency; Preeclampsia