First trimester placental volume and three dimensional power doppler ultrasonography in type I diabetic pregnancies
Prenatal Diagnosis, 04/19/2012
Rizzo G et al. – In type I diabetic mothers, placental vascular indices are increased and these modifications are more evident in pregnancies with poor first trimester glycemic control.
Methods- 3D–power Doppler ultrasonography of the placenta was performed at 11+0–13+6 weeks in 32 pregnancies complicated by type I diabetes.
- Placental volume, vascularization index (VI), flow index (FI), and vascularization flow index (VFI) were calculated using a standardized setting.
- In nine pregnancies, a poor first trimester glycemic control was present as expressed by HbA1c levels≥≥7%, whereas in the remaining 23 mothers, the HbA1c concentrations were <7%.
- No differences were found in the placental volumes of diabetic mothers when compared with reference limits. 3D Doppler placental vascular indices were significantly higher in diabetic mothers (VI delta value 0.99, p=0.0012; FI delta value 0.64, p=0.0008; VFI delta value 1.28, p=0.0039) when compared with reference limits.
- Pregnancies with HbA1c ≥7% exhibited higher placental vascular indices when compared with diabetic mothers with better glycemic control.
