Establishment of reference ranges for ductus venosus waveform indices in the Japanese population

To establish reference ranges for ductus venosus waveform indices in the Japanese population.

In this retrospective cross-sectional study, 791 singleton fetuses of healthy Japanese couples were examined from January 2004 to January 2008. Reference ranges for ductus venosus waveform indices were constructed from cross-sectional data obtained at between 18 and 41 weeks of gestation.

With a success rate of 84%, a total of 667 measurements in 791 women were eligible for analysis. The median pulsatility index (PI) of fetal ductus venosus decreased from 0.54 at 18 weeks of gestation to 0.30 at 41 weeks of gestation. The median end-diastolic velocity/peak systolic velocity (a/S) of the ductus venosus increased from 0.56 at 18 weeks of gestation to 0.76 at 41 weeks of gestation.

In this study, we established reference ranges for the PI and a/S of the ductus venosus in the Japanese population, which differed slightly from other published reference data. The results will be useful for further studies to determine the validity of the clinical importance of the ductus venosus for at-risk fetuses.