The clinical value of early diastolic notch index of uterine artery in predicting hypertensive disorders complicating pregnancy

Objective: To explore the value of the early diastolic notch index of uterine artery in predicting hypertensive disorders complicating pregnancy(PIH).Methods: The bilateral uterine arteries in 204 single fetal pregnant women with normal delivery were detected using color doppler ultrasound.The women were divided into the notch group(21 cases) and non-notch group(183 cases) according to the notch in early diastolic uterine artery.The notch index(NI) in all cases were calculated,which was divided into 4 grades.The incidence of PIH and pregnancy outcome of each grade were compared.Results: Among 204 pregnant women,normal blood pressure in 188 cases and developing to PIH in 16 cases were found.The incidences of PIH in notch group and non-notch group were 28.6% and 5.5%,respectively,the difference of which was statistically significant(P<0.01).The incidences of PIH in NI 1 grade,NI 2 grade,NI 3 grade and NI 4 grade women were 5.4%,10.0%,2/6 and 3/4,respectively.The incidence of PIH in NI 4 grade women was higher than that in NI 1 grade and NI 2 grade women(P<0.01).The cesarean section rate in NI 4 group and incidence of neonatal 1 min Apgar score less than 7 in NI 3 and NI 4 group were higher than those in NI 1 group(P<0.05 to P<0.01).The placental weight of NI 3 and NI 4 group and newborn body quality in NI 2,3 and 4 group were lower than those in NI 1 group(P<0.05 to P<0.01).Conclusions: Early diastolic notch of uterine artery has high clinical value in predicting PIH.The classification of NI can well evaluate the incidence of PIH,which is worthy to be popularized.