Donald School Journal of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology

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VOLUME 14 , ISSUE 2 ( April-June, 2020 ) > List of Articles

Original Article

Doppler and 3D Power Doppler Assessment of the Endometrium and its Correlation to Abortion Rates

Sonal Panchal, Chaitanya Nagori, Manish Thaker

Keywords : 3D power Doppler, Endometrial vascularity, Endometrial volume, Miscarriage rate

Citation Information : Panchal S, Nagori C, Thaker M. Doppler and 3D Power Doppler Assessment of the Endometrium and its Correlation to Abortion Rates. Donald School J Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol 2020; 14 (2):150-156.

DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10009-1638

License: CC BY-NC 4.0

Published Online: 30-07-2020

Copyright Statement:  Copyright © 2020; The Author(s).


Abstract

Introduction: Endometrial vascularity has been documented as an important factor for the assessment of endometrial receptivity. This study was done to evaluate whether the vascularity of the endometrium is also predictive of prognosis of pregnancy. Materials and methods: In total, 850 patients undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) and frozen embryo transfer were recruited for the study. Endometrial preparation was done by artificial cycle protocol in all by estradiol valerate. Evaluation of the endometrium for its thickness and its vascularity as seen on B-mode ultrasound, power Doppler (PD), and pulsed-wave Doppler. Endometrial volume (EV) was calculated by three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound and virtual organ computer-aided analysis (VOCAL) and after acquiring volume of the endometrium with PD. A quantitative assessment of the global vascularity of the endometrium was done by 3D PD to calculate vascularity index (VI), flow index (FI), and vascularity flow index (VFI) for the endometrium. Post-embryo transfer, β-hCG was checked for confirmation of pregnancy in all the patients on day 14 after the embryo transfer, and in all positive cases, ultrasound was done after 10 days of positive β-hCG. All patients with pregnancy were followed up by ultrasound for the entire first trimester and abortions were documented. Results: Patients with endometrial vascularity in zones 3 and 4, RI < 0.6, had a high conception rate and low miscarriage rate with EV of <1.5 mL, not a single pregnancy was noted. If the endometrial FI before the trigger for ovulation is between 37 and 41 and endometrial VFI was between 25 and 27, not only there are significantly higher chances of leading to conception, but these values also carry a high chance of ongoing pregnancy.


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