Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study is to evaluate three dimensional cerebroplacental ratio (CPR 3D) using 3D power Doppler angiography (3D PDA) in the intrauterine monitoring of the growth restricted fetuses (IUGR). Methods: Cerebroplacental ratio (CPR), the ratio between PI of MCA and PI of umbilical artery (UA), is a better predictor for adverse outcome than a single vessel considered alone. We defined CPR 3DPDA as the ratio between vascular indices of a region of fetal brain (ROI) and the vascular indices of the placenta using 3DPDA methodology. The ROI evaluated were a ‘frontal zone’, sprinkled mainly by anterior cerebral artery, obtained tracing a contour passing through the anterior side of cavum septum pellucido (CSP) surrounding part of temporal and frontal bone. Then a second ROI obtained tracing a contour from temporal bones of the width of CSP included (’temporal zone’) sprinkled by middle cerebral artery MCA. We considered 3DPDA vascular indexes (VI = vascularisation FI = flow, VFI = vascularisation and flow). We enrolled 33 IUGR fetuses and 81 adeguate for gestational age, as control cases (24–38 weeks). IUGR fetuses were divided into 2 groups: group 1, IUGR with normal flussimetry of umbilical artery (UA) and MCA; group 2, IUGR with abnormal UA-PI (mean > 2 SD) and abnormal MCA-PI (PI < 2 SD). We calculated the 2D CPR and the CPR 3D of the frontal and temporal cerebral zones for all vascular indexes. Results: Values of 2D CPR were in accordance with the expected ones. CPR 3D, applying VI and VFI, both in frontal and temporal zone demonstrated a statistically significant different values compared with control cases. Conclusions: CPR 3D can be considered a new parameter: it demonstrates the vascular redistribution in frontal and temporal zones during the ‘brain sparing effect’ in IUGR fetuses also in the group of IUGR fetuses without bidimensional pathological flussimetry.

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