Estimation of Normative Values of Maternal Artery Doppler Velocimetry in Second Trimester in Indian Population: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Ophthalmic artery is the first branch of the internal carotid artery and provides an indirect approach to flow pattern and velocimetry information to less approachable intracranial circulation. Aim: To obtain the normative reference value of maternal Ophthalmic Artery Doppler (OAD) velocimetry in the second trimester. Materials and Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted on 700 patients who visited the hospital for antenatal ultrasound in the second trimester at the Department of Radiodiagnosis and Imaging, Sri Guru Ram Das Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Amritsar, Punjab, India. Maternal OAD was performed with a GE Voluson E8 Expert BT12 (Wipro GE) using a linear 5-10 MHZ transducer. After recording the patient history, various doppler indices like First Peak Systolic Velocity (PSV1), Second PSV2, Pulsatility Index (PI), End Diastolic Velocity (EDV), Resistivity Index (RI), Systolic to Diastolic ratio (S/D) and PSV2 to PSV1 ratio (PSV ratio: PSV2/PSV1) were recorded. Descriptive analyses were performed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25.0 to compute frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations. Results: A total of 700 subjects were included with a mean age of 28.28±5.63 and a mean Body Mass Index (BMI) of 25.89±2.71 kg/mm². The mean systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure was 117.87±8.38 and 78.42±5.70, with Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP) 91.49±5.75. The OAD velocimetry revealed the mean PSV1 value of 33.05±6.71 cm/sec, PSV2 value of 16.22±3.66 cm/sec. Similarly, mean PSV2/PSV1 and EDV values were 0.49±0.07 and 5.76±1.54 cm/sec, respectively. The other doppler parameters like mean PI, RI and S/D values were 2.43±034, 0.82±0.04, and 6.07±1.85. Conclusion: Establishing reference values for maternal OA doppler parameters is crucial for distinguishing between normal and pathological pregnancies. Change from normal values may indicate a pathological state like increased vascular resistance, which usually results at around 20th week of gestation. These changes may be the earliest indication of future development of preeclampsia, which requires earlier detection for proper management.