| Aim: To determine whether main pulmonary artery Doppler indices correlate with fetal lung maturity.
Materials and methods: This prospective cohort study was designed to study Doppler Indices (Plasticity Index, Resistance
Index, Systolic- to- Diastolic ratio, Peak systolic Velocity, Acceleration time & Ejection time) in MPA of fetuses in women which
impend preterm birth in 3rd trimester (28-37 wks)
Results: 23 of 145 fetuses (15.86%) developed RDS.Et, at & At/Et ratio of their MPA Doppler were positively correlated with
gestational age. S/D ratio, PSV, RI and PI didn`t show correlation with fetal lung maturity.At/Et ratio had strongest predictive value
for fetal lung maturity. At/Et ratio cut point ≥0.304 predicted fetal lung maturity in fetuses of 28-37 wks gestational age(sensitivity=
94.3%,specificity=95.7%,positive predictive value=99.1% and negative predictive value =75,9%).
Conclusion: Fetal MPA Doppler At/Et ratio can predicts FLM with high sensitivity and specificity as a noninvasive test. |