110
Views
1
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Research Article

Hepatic portal vein flow and three dimensional indices of hepatic perfusion in pre-eclampsia compared with normal pregnancy

&
Pages 817-820 | Published online: 12 Nov 2013
 

Abstract

It has been suggested that the origins of pre-eclampsia arise from the maternal venous system dysfunction. This study aimed to test this hypothesis by assessing hepatic perfusion in pre-eclampsia using three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound. The hepatic portal vein flow in 12 women with normal pregnancy and 11 women with pre-eclampsia was measured using standard Doppler ultrasound. The 3D indices of hepatic perfusion: flow index (FI), vascular index (VI) and vascularisation flow index (VFI), which are believed to reflect vascularity and flow intensity were also measured. Because of small numbers, a non-parametric test was used to test differences between groups. Hepatic portal vein flow was no different between women with normal pregnancy compared with women with pre-eclampsia (228.1 (215.5–270.6) vs 283.0 (145.9–344.6); p = 0.90). The 3D indices of hepatic perfusion were as follows (FI: 36.3(30.7–42.5) vs 39.7 (27.7–44.2), p = 1.00; VI: 11.7 (3.6–21.2) vs 3.0 (0.5–7.6), p = 0.04; VFI: 4.7 (1.2–8.3) vs 1.2 (0.1–3.2), p = 0.06, respectively). This study was not able to support or refute the suggestion that the genesis of pre-eclampsia arises from the maternal venous circulation. There may be biological differences in the 3D indices of hepatic perfusion in women with pre-eclampsia compared with normal pregnant women.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Log in via your institution

Log in to Taylor & Francis Online

PDF download + Online access

  • 48 hours access to article PDF & online version
  • Article PDF can be downloaded
  • Article PDF can be printed
USD 65.00 Add to cart

* Local tax will be added as applicable

Related Research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.