Assessing vascular characteristics of the fetal descending aorta: A feasibility study.
Nicholas G EvanoffDonald R DengelShanti NarasimhanPublished in: Journal of clinical ultrasound : JCU (2020)
Research describing fetal arterial structure and function is lacking within the literature. This study's purpose was to measure intima-media thickness (IMT), compliance and distensibility of 24- to 25-week fetuses' abdominal aortas using conventional ultrasonography from 16 diabetic (DM) and 25 non-diabetic mothers (NDM). We found no significant differences in fetal abdominal aorta IMT (P = .68), diameter distensibility (P = .22), or cross-sectional distensibility (P = .23). However, both fetal abdominal aortic diameter compliance (P = .03) and cross-sectional compliance (P = .005) were greater in DM than in NDM (P = .005). This study demonstrates that it is possible and potentially useful to measure fetal abdominal aorta biometrics and biomechanical characteristics.
Keyphrases
- cross sectional
- aortic valve
- pulmonary artery
- type diabetes
- systematic review
- abdominal aortic
- clinical trial
- klebsiella pneumoniae
- escherichia coli
- wound healing
- cardiovascular disease
- pulmonary hypertension
- adipose tissue
- skeletal muscle
- glycemic control
- pulmonary arterial hypertension
- study protocol
- placebo controlled