Assessment of feline fetal viability by conceptus echobiometry and triplex Doppler ultrasonography of uterine and umbilical arteries
2010
Brito, Adriel B. | Miranda, Stefânia A. | Ruas, Marcone R. | Santos, Regiane R. | Domingues, Sheyla F.S.
The aims of the present study were to: (1) evaluate blood flow in the uterine (UA) and umbilical arteries (Uma) in the pregnant queen, by measuring the resistive index (RI) and pulsatility index (PI); (2) to note the presence or absence of the early diastolic notch and diastolic flow in the UA and Uma flow waveforms, respectively; and (3) perform conceptus echobiometry for fetal growth assessment during pregnancy. Eight healthy pregnant domestic Brazilian Shorthair queens were examined from Days 10 to 50 after mating (mating=Day 0). Triplex Doppler and B-mode ultrasonography were used to assess blood flow and conceptus echobiometry. All pregnancies ended with a normal parturition and birth of live kittens. Prior to parturition, all conceptus dimensions increased significantly, whereas RI and PI peaked between Days 33 and 43 followed by a decrease (P <0.05). The PI least on Day 50. The RI and PI of Uma decreased (P <0.05) during two periods in the fetal development, i.e. from Days 22 to 40 (0.79±0.01 and 1.64±0.04), and from Days 41 to 50 (0.75±0.01 and 1.39±0.05), representing the increased Uma perfusion. Both the complete disappearance of the early diastolic notch in the UA, and the appearance of diastolic flow in the Uma occurred on Day 42±1. It was concluded fetal echobiometry, UA and Uma perfusion, were important end points to assess fetal viability in queens. Furthermore, the current reference values provided a baseline for monitoring normal and abnormal pregnancies in queens.
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