Hepatic portal vein flow and three dimensional indices of hepatic perfusion in pre-eclampsia compared with normal pregnancy.

It has been suggested that the origins of pre-eclampsia arise from the maternal venous system dysfunction. This study aimed to test this hypothesis by assessing hepatic perfusion in pre-eclampsia using three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound. The hepatic portal vein flow in 12 women with normal pregnancy and 11 women with pre-eclampsia was measured using standard Doppler ultrasound. The 3D indices of hepatic perfusion: flow index (FI), vascular index (VI) and vascularisation flow index (VFI), which are believed to reflect vascularity and flow intensity were also measured. Because of small numbers, a non-parametric test was used to test differences between groups. Hepatic portal vein flow was no different between women with normal pregnancy compared with women with pre-eclampsia (228.1 (215.5-270.6) vs. 283.0 (145.9-344.6); p = 0.90). The 3D indices of hepatic perfusion were as follows (FI: 36.3(30.7-42.5) vs. 39.7 (27.7-44.2), p = 1.00; VI: 11.7 (3.6-21.2) vs. 3.0 (0.5-7.6), p = 0.04; VFI: 4.7 (1.2-8.3) vs. 1.2 (0.1-3.2), p = 0.06, respectively). This study was not able to support or refute the suggestion that the genesis of pre-eclampsia arises from the maternal venous circulation. There may be biological differences in the 3D indices of hepatic perfusion in women with pre-eclampsia compared with normal pregnant women.