Umbilical artery velocimetry in insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) pregnancies

Seven hundred and sixtyseven Doppler umbilical artery velocity waveform analyses were performed in 108 pregnant insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) women. No significant correlation between mean third trimester systolic to diastolic (S/D) ratio and either mean blood glucose (r = 0.19) or glycosylated hemoglobin levels (r = 0.28) was found. Mean second and third trimester S/D ratios differed significantly in patients with or without vascular disease (P < 0.05). Furthermore, women without vasculopathy who demonstrated an elevated S/D developed preeclampsia and delivered appropriate for gestational age infants while patients with vascular disease or chronic hypertension and elevated third trimester S/D (> 3) delivered intra uterine growth retarded (IUGR) infants. Moreover, in most of the latter group elevated S/D ratios were recorded in the second trimester prior to ultrasound documentation of IUGR. Our data suggest that in the absence of vasculopathy normal fetal placental resistance can be expected in most pregnancies complicated by diabetes. Patients with vasculopathy are at higher risk for fetal IUGR, which may be identified by early umbilical artery velocimetry.