First‐trimester uterine artery Doppler indices in term and preterm pre‐eclampsia

Abstract

The uterine artery Doppler data in this study suggest that preterm pre-eclampsia is strongly associated with defective invasion of the spiral arteries, in contrast to the findings in term pre-eclampsia which may be a consequence of placental deterioration at term. Our study findings support, but do not prove, a rigid separation between the etiology of early- and late-onset pre-eclampsia. Although there is a strong relationship between first-trimester uterine artery Doppler indices and the subsequent development of preterm pre-eclampsia, our data do not support its routine introduction into clinical practice.