Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1942/18288
Title: Hepatic hemodynamics and fetal growth: a relationship of interest for further research
Authors: VONCK, Sharona 
STAELENS, Anneleen 
Mesens, Tinne
TOMSIN, Kathleen 
GYSELAERS, Wilfried 
Issue Date: 2014
Source: PloS one, 9 (12)
Abstract: It is well known that hepatic hemodynamics is an important physiologic mechanism in the regulation of cardiac output (CO). It has been reported that maternal cardiac output relates to neonatal weight at birth. In this study, we assessed the correlation between maternal hepatic vein Doppler flow parameters, cardiac output and neonatal birth weight. Healthy women with uncomplicated second or third trimester pregnancy attending the outpatient antenatal clinic of Ziekenhuis Oost-Limburg in Genk (Belgium), had a standardized combined electrocardiogram-Doppler ultrasound with Impedance Cardiography, for measurement of Hepatic Vein Impedance Index (HVI = [maximum velocity – minimum velocity]/maximum velocity), venous pulse transit time (VPTT = time interval between corresponding ECG and Doppler wave characteristics) and cardiac output (heart rate x stroke volume). After delivery, a population-specific birth weight chart, established from a cohort of 27000 neonates born in the index hospital, was used to define customized birth weight percentiles (BW%). Correlations between HVI, VPTT, CO and BW% were calculated using Spearman's ρ, linear regression analysis and R2 goodness of fit in SPSS 22.0. A total of 73 women were included. There was a negative correlation between HVI and VPTT (ρ=−0.719, p<0.001). Both HVI and VPTT correlated with CO (ρ=−0.403, p<0.001 and ρ=0.332, p<0.004 resp.) and with BW% (ρ=−0.341, p<0.003 and ρ=0.296, p<0.011 resp.) Our data illustrate that the known contribution of hepatic hemodynamics in the regulation of cardiac output is also true for women with uncomplicated pregnancies. Our study is the first to illustrate a potential link between maternal hepatic hemodynamics and neonatal birth weight. Whether this link is purely associative or whether hepatic vascular physiology has a direct impact on fetal growth is to be evaluated in more extensive clinical and experimental research.
Notes: Vonck, S (reprint author), Hasselt Univ, Fac Med & Life Sci, Hasselt, Belgium. sharona.vonck@zol.be
Document URI: http://hdl.handle.net/1942/18288
ISSN: 1932-6203
e-ISSN: 1932-6203
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0115594
ISI #: 000348563300053
Rights: Copyright: © 2014 Vonck et al. This is an openaccess article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Category: A1
Type: Journal Contribution
Validations: ecoom 2016
Appears in Collections:Research publications

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