SynthesisCMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne2008
Use of uterine artery Doppler ultrasonography to predict pre-eclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction: a systematic review and bivariable meta-analysis.
Synthesis in CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT01799343 (Water Immersion and Changes in the Fetoplacental Circulation. A Case-Control Study With the Case as it's Own Control.), which is not on this map. Cited by 171 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Water Immersion and Changes in the Fetoplacental Circulation. A Case-Control Study With the Case as it's Own Control.
Who cites it
171 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 716 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prediction and prevention of late-onset pre-eclampsia: a systematic review.Frontiers in medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Association between transabdominal uterine artery Doppler and small-for-gestational-age: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2023Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Predictive accuracy of the first trimester Doppler scan: a meta-study.Wiener medizinische Wochenschrift (1946) · 2015Pooled it
- Methodological quality of test accuracy studies included in systematic reviews in obstetrics and gynaecology: sources of bias.BMC women's health · 2011Pooled it
- Utero-placental Doppler ultrasound for improving pregnancy outcome.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2010Pooled it
- The diagnosis and treatment of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy: new findings for antenatal and inpatient care.Deutsches Arzteblatt international · 2009Pooled it
- Trial
- Corpus luteum number and the maternal renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system as determinants of utero-placental (vascular) development: the Rotterdam Periconceptional Cohort.Reproductive biology and endocrinology : RB&E · 2021Trial
- Prediction of pre-eclampsia and its subtypes in high-risk cohort: hyperglycosylated human chorionic gonadotropin in multivariate models.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2018Trial
- Antenatal telephone support intervention with and without uterine artery Doppler screening for low risk nulliparous women: a randomised controlled trial.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2014Trial
- The utility of uterine artery Doppler velocimetry in prediction of preeclampsia in a low-risk population.Obstetrics and gynecology · 2012Trial
- Placental Blood-Flow Velocity Quantification From Diffusion MRI.Magnetic resonance in medicine · 2026Article
- Improved risk stratification for placenta-mediated complications through the use of mid-gestational uterine artery Doppler: A retrospective cohort study.Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica · 2026Article
- 2D Shear Wave Elastography: An Evolving Technique for Comparison of Placental Elasticity in Normal and Preeclamptic Pregnancy.The Indian journal of radiology & imaging · 2026Article
- Inhibition of NFAT after human uterus transplant promotes loss of tissue-resident NK cells and attendant pregnancy complications.Science translational medicine · 2026Article
- Uterine artery transcriptomic signatures of e-cigarette aerosol exposure in pregnancy.Reproductive toxicology (Elmsford, N.Y.) · 2026Article
- Effect of first-trimester aspirin initiation timing on obstetric outcomes: A comparative study.Medicine · 2026Article
- Corpus luteum number and maternal circulatory adaptation from early pregnancy onwards: the Rotterdam Periconception Cohort (Predict Study).Human reproduction (Oxford, England) · 2025Article
- Prediction of Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes Based on Maternal and Pregnancy Characteristics in Triplet Pregnancies.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
111 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
11 authors at 6 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAlterations in waveforms in the uterine artery are associated with the development of pre-eclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction. We investigated the predictive accuracy of all uterine artery Doppler indices for both conditions in the first and second trimesters.
methodsWe identified relevant studies through searches of MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library and Medion databases (all records to April 2006) and by checking bibliographies of identified studies and consulting with experts. Four of us independently selected studies, extracted data and assessed study validity. We performed a bivariable meta-analysis of sensitivity and specificity and calculated likelihood ratios.
resultsWe identified 74 studies of pre-eclampsia (total 79,547 patients) and 61 studies of intrauterine growth restriction (total 41 131 patients). Uterine artery Doppler ultrasonography provided a more accurate prediction when performed in the second trimester than in the first-trimester. Most Doppler indices had poor predictive characteristics, but this varied with patient risk and outcome severity. An increased pulsatility index with notching was the best predictor of pre-eclampsia (positive likelihood ratio 21.0 among high-risk patients and 7.5 among low-risk patients). It was also the best predictor of overall (positive likelihood ratio 9.1) and severe (positive likelihood ratio 14.6) intrauterine growth restriction among low-risk patients.
interpretationAbnormal uterine artery waveforms are a better predictor of pre-eclampsia than of intrauterine growth restriction. A pulsatility index, alone or combined with notching, is the most predictive Doppler index. These indices should be used in clinical practice. Future research should also concentrate on combining uterine artery Doppler ultrasonography with other tests.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.