Three-dimensional sonographic assessment of placental volume and vascularization in pregnancies complicated by hypertensive disorders : Case control study

Introduction: Pre-eclampsia remains a leading cause of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality.
Aim of the work: To compare placental volumes and vascularization between normotensive pregnant women and women with hypertensive disorders using three-dimensional sonography.
Patients and Methods: The study comprised of 60 patients divided into three groups; control group included 20 women with normal blood pressure, 20 patients with chronic hypertension (those with a diagnosis of elevated blood pressure before or within the first half of pregnancy) and 20 patients with mild pre-eclampsia (those with no history of arterial hypertension before pregnancy and a confirmed diagnosis of arterial hypertension associated with proteinuria in second half of pregnancy).
Results: there was no statistical difference between the three groups as regarding the demographic data. There was statistical significant difference between the three groups as regarding PV to FWT ratio. The mean of PV to FWT ratio of group 1, group 2 and group 3 was 0.1347±0.1590, 0.1257±0.01, 0.1408±0.017, respectively, with significant statistical differences between normotensive and chronic hypertensive groups (P=0.016) and with significant statistical differences between normotensive and mild pre-eclamptic group (P=0.002). As regarding placental vascular indices, there was significant statistical differences between the three groups and VFI (P=0.03), but there was no significant statistical difference between the three groups as regarding placental FI (P=143). There was significant positive correlation between placental volume, gestational age and observed to expected PV ratio (r) 0.515, 0.797 respectively. There was significant negative correlation between PV and placental VI. (r) 0.247.
Conclusion: Infertile women are susceptible to violence. All women attended infertility clinics must be screened for presence of violence and offered adequate support. Healthcare staff should consider husband attendance and good counseling about the drawback of all types of violence.