Razi Journal of Medical Sciences

    Background & Aim: Preeclampsia is the major cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. Transcranial Doppler(TCD) as a noninvasive procedure is used to assess hemodynamic changes in middle cerebral artery(MCA). Knowing the influence of normal pregnancy and preeclampsia on brain hemodynamics is essential for proper management of anesthesia, labor and vasoactive drug usage in these patients. The aim of the present study is to measure and compare MCA flow velocity in preeclamptic and normal pregnant women using transcranial doppler. Patients and Method: In this case-control study, transcranial Doppler ultrasound was used to measure peak systolic velocity(PSV), end-diastolic velocity(EDV), mean flow velocity(MV), and pulsatility index(PI) in the middle cerebral artery(MCA) of 30 preeclamptic and 30 normotensive pregnant women in the third trimester. Preeclamptic subjects matched the normotensive ones for maternal age, gestational age and gravidity. Statistical analysis was done using independent t-test and Fisher Exact test. Results: Preeclamptic women had significantly higher baseline peak(113.3 compared with 76.31cm/s, P<0.001), end-diastolic(59.1 compared with 38.4cm/s, p<0.001) and mean velocity(73.8 compared with 46.1cm/s, P<0.001) in the middle cerebral artery. Conclusion: Preeclamptic patients had elevated baseline peak, end-diastolic and mean velocity in the MCAs. These findings are consistent with a state of vasoconstriction in preeclamptic women which is unresponsive to stimuli that under normal circumstances result in vasodilation.