Análise dos índices doppler da artéria oftálmica de grávidas com hipertensão arterial crônica

Abstract

Objective: To assess the Doppler indexes of the ophthalmic artery in pregnant women who have been diagnosed with severe arterial hypertension, as well as to compare these data with a group of pregnant women without hypertension blood pressure and to identify the cut-off points for differentiation between the indexes of both groups. Method: This investigation refers to observational cross-sectional study, which assessed 220 pregnant women with chronic arterial hypertension as well as non-hypertense pregnant women in their second and third trimesters constituting, respectively, the study and the control groups. All patients underwent Doppler evaluation of the ophthalmic artery, with an evaluation of the resistance indexes (RI), pulsatility (PI), and peak ratio (PR). Results: There was a meaningful difference between the averages of the Doppler indexes of the ophthalmic artery between the two groups assessed; showing lower IR and IP values and higher PR in the study group in relation to the control group. It was possible to identify cut-off points for differentiation between the indexes of both groups. Conclusion: There are flow alterations in the ophthalmic arteries of pregnant women with chronic arterial hypertension, represented by signs of moderate vasodilatation and impedance decrease in the orbital territory, the fact which can be extrapolated for the small-caliber vessels of the central nervous system, considering the ophthalmic arteries belong to the central nervous system. The discrimination between the groups, the peak ratio proved to be the best index, due to its higher accuracy (74,54%) among the three tests, with diagnostic sensitivity in the order of 80%, and higher PPV and NPV, 74,9% e 73,9%, respectively, when applied at the cutting level of 0,58.