Prediction of Preeclampsia in a Low-Risk Population Using Diastolic Notch of Uterine Arteries
Thawalwong Ratanasiri MD* Amornrat Thanachaiviwat MD*, Woraluk Somboonporn MD*, Pilaiwan Kleebkaow, Kanok Seejorn MD*
Affiliation : *Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University
Objective : To assess the performance of diastolic notch of uterine arteries as a predictor for preeclampsia.
Materials and Methods : A prospective study of 378 pregnant women between 18-22 week’s gestation who
were attending at the Antenatal Care Clinic, Srinagarind Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University
was conducted. Doppler flow velocity waveform of all subjects was screened for the presence of diastolic
notch of uterine artery to be related with the pregnancy outcome.
Results : Diastolic notch was found in one or both uterine arteries in 51 subjects, yielding 78.6% sensitivity,
89.0% specificity, 21.6% positive predictive value, 99.1% negative predictive value, 88.6% accuracy, with
likelihood ratio of positive and negative test result of 7.2 and 0.2 respectively in the prediction of preeclampsia.
Conclusion : Although having high sensitivity and specificity, diastolic notch of uterine artery found in the
second trimester provides too low predictive value to be used as a routine screening for preeclampsia.
Keywords : Preeclampsia, Diastolic notch, Uterine artery
