Assessment of the fetal-placental unit using clinical and ultrasound evaluation and inherited thrombophilia in pregnant patients

Abstract

A normal pregnancy progression leads towards a pro­throm­botic phenotype in order to prepare the mother for delivery. When the physiological adaptation overlaps to abnormal changes, such as thrombophilic factor mu­ta­tions, the risk for adverse pregnancy outcome becomes in­crea­singly higher. Doppler ultrasound velocimetry of utero-placental and fetal vessels represents a method of antenatal monitoring, thus being a noninvasive evaluation method. We analyzed 145 pregnant women, recruited over a period of 6 months, from January 2016 to June 2016, in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department of the Bucharest University Emergency Hospital, who underwent clinical and ultrasound evaluation according to their gestational age. We encountered five cases with middle cerebral artery/umbilical artery pulsatility indices ratio smaller than 1, representing the population at risk for a higher maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. Also, intrauterine growth restriction was more frequent in the aforementioned group (60%) versus the rest of the patients (7.9%). An extensive literature review highlights the role of inherited thrombophilic disorders and obstetric complications affecting the normal placental vascular function; however, appropriate treatment can improve pregnancy outcome. Future research regarding thrombophilic pregnant patients should focus on close clinical and ultrasound monitoring for the best maternal and fetal results.