American Research Journal of Gynaecology

Background/Aims: Doppler ultrasonography is used in clinical gynecologic practice to detect the renal macroscopic vascular abnormalities and changes in blood flow at the micro vascular level. The aim of the study was to find the differences between renal flow parameters in pregnant and nonpregnat participants, and to find the associative connection of those Doppler parameters with certain stages of gestation period.

Methods: Doppler ultrasonography evaluations of both kidneys were performed in 65 pregnant women and 35 healthy volonteers from control group (CG). We measured resistive index (RI) at the level of the arcuate or interlobar arteries, peak systolic velocity (PSV) and end diastolic velocity (EDV) in pregnant and CG.

Results: We found statistically high significance in renal RI (0.648±0.017 vs. 0.616±0.035 in pregnant and CG, p < 0.0001) and in RI between three gestational age subgroups (0.645±0.027, 0.659±0.013 and 0.644±0.011 for first, second and third group, respectively). The mean PSV and EDV results for pregnant and CG were: 60.09±3.87 and 21.15±1.57 vs. 52.99±12.32 and 20.28±4.51. The PSV and EDV results among subgroups were: 58.29±3.25, 60.93±4.40 and 60.65±3.39 for PSV and 20.38±1.57, 21.28±1.55 and 21.62±1.42 for EDV, according first, second and third group, respectively). There is a high statistical significance between PSVs and renal RIs in pregnant and CG (P < 0.0001), but not between the EDVs (p = 0.162). By linear regression analysis (y = 19.4009 + 0.06813∙x) we found strong positive correlation between EDV and gestational age, only.

Conclusions: We conclude that pregnancy reduces renal vascular resistance (RI) and increases renal flow according statistically high significance between the mean renal RI in pregnant and CG. The EDV changes during gestational age are more than two and a half time bigger than changes in PSV. The