Relationship between Doppler findings and fetal brain apparent diffusion coefficient in early-onset intra-uterine growth restriction*

AbstractObjective: The aim of the study is to assess the relationship between uteroplacental Doppler sonography findings and cerebral diffusion measured by diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI) in fetuses with early-onset intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR).Materials and methods: The study included 54 pregnant women with fetal IUGR and 15 healthy controls (n: 15). Fetuses with IUGR were classified into four groups based on Doppler findings: group 1 (n = 12), umbilical artery (UA) pulsatility index (PI) > 95pc; group 2 (n = 11), UA PI >95 pc and middle cerebral artery PI < 5pc; group 3 (n = 21), absent end-diastolic (A-EDF) in UA; group 4 (n = 10), reversed EDF in UA. After Doppler evaluation, DWI was performed in all patients within hours. The groups were compared with respect to apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) levels.Findings: In cases with fetal IUGR, significant decreases were detected in ADC values of periatrial white matter (PAWM) (p = .01), frontal white matter (FWM) (p = .038)...