PERFORMANCE OF DOPPLER ULTRASONOGRAPHY AS A SCREENING-TEST IN LOW-RISK PREGNANCIES : RESULTS OF A MULTICENTRIC STUDY

The efficacy of the Doppler velocimetry is assess by studying the uterine and umbilical arteries for preeclampsia and fetal growth retardation. It is shown that Doppler studies of the uterine and umbilical arteries at midpregnancy have good sensitivity in detecting fetuses that will develop the most severe forms of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy or IUGR. However, this cannot be used to screen a low risk population, in which the prevalence of the conditions is very low. To detect two or three abnormal cases, 97 to 98 normal pregnant women would be alarmed unnecessarily. It was suggested that 'to have doubt cast upon the health of the fetus is very stressful especially for a woman with no a prior reason to consider herself at risk' and that 'doubt will persist long after false positive were negated'.