Índice de pulsatilidad de la arteria uterina y parto pretérmino inminente en pacientes sintomáticas

Objective: To establish the association between pulsatility index of the uterine artery and imminent preterm delivery in symptomatic patients. Methods: Women with single pregnancies of 24 - 35 weeks were selected, with threat of preterm delivery and intact membranes. Before the start of any treatment, all were submitted to Doppler ultrasound evaluation. The main variable of the study was the frequency of imminent delivery (in the 7 days following the evaluation). General characteristics and values of the pulsatility index of the uterine artery were evaluated. Results: 481 patients were selected for the study. 119 participants presented imminent preterm delivery (group A) and 362 patients presented deliveries beyond 7 days (group B). Pulsatility index of the uterine artery at rest (2.24 +/- 0.51 compared to 1.57 +/- 0.36) and during uterine contractions (0.94 +/- 0.21 compared to 0, 75 +/- 0.12) were higher in patients in group A compared with those in group B (p <0.0001). It was observed that the pulsatility index at rest had an area under the curve of 0.843 compared to an area under the curve of 0.748 during contractions (p <0.05). The combination of both measurements showed a significantly higher value under the curve (0.892) that was significantly higher than both tests individually (p <0.05). Conclusion: Pulsatility index of the uterine artery is associated with imminent preterm delivery in symptomatic patients.