Doppler Assessment of Uterine Blood Flow in Pre-eclampsia: A Review

Doppler ultrasonography plays an ever-increasing role in obstetric imaging. Although commonly purported to assess blood flow, most studies in this area report purely on velocimetric parameters, rather than true volumetric flow. This review article highlights the physiological importance of this distinction, and reports on a literature review of uterine artery Doppler interrogation in the context of pre-eclampsia, which identified only four original research papers that attempted to assess blood flow. Attention is needed for true volumetric flow assessment in pre-eclampsia research, which may permit a more complete conceptualisation of the pathogenesis and haemodynamic consequences of this condition.