Abstract
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.
Highlights
Sonoelastography is an assistant method of conventional ultrasound that measures the elasticity of tissue
Umbilical and uterine artery Doppler ultrasonography (DUS) findings may be an early messenger of PE and intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) [4, 5]
The aim of this study is to reveal whether there is any relationship between Strain elastography (SE) values and Doppler US findings, and to investigate the availability of SE in early diagnosis of PE
Summary
Sonoelastography is an assistant method of conventional ultrasound that measures the elasticity of tissue. Strain elastography (SE) or real time sonoelastography gives the relative tissue hardness by calculating the rate of strain between target and reference tissue texture [1, 2]. SE is widely used in differentiating normal tissue from neoplasia, inflammation and fibrosis in breast, thyroid, prostate, and liver imaging [3, 4]. Preeclampsia (PE) is a serious clinical condition that can lead to placental dysfunction, fetal growth retardation, and fetal and maternal loss. PE can be diagnosed clinically with the presence of hypertension and proteinuria. Ultrasonography (US), Doppler ultrasonography (DUS), non-stress test (NST), and biophysics profile constitute the tests help to identify it. Umbilical and uterine artery DUS findings may be an early messenger of PE and intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) [4, 5].
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