Uterine artery Doppler pulsatility index at 11-38 weeks in ICSI pregnancies with egg donation

Background: Uterine artery Doppler pulsatility index (UtA-PI) may be different in pregnancies with egg donation (ICSI-ED) as compared to conceptions with autologous intra-cytoplasmatic sperm injection (autologous ICSI) and to spontaneous conceptions (SC). Methods: One hundred and ninety-four pregnant women with different modes of conception (MC) were prospectively evaluated: 53 ICSI-ED, 36 autologous ICSI and 105 SC. To evaluate the effects of different MC on PI, multi-variable linear regression (MLR) models predicting UtA-PI were fitted after adjustment for maternal age, body mass index, race, parity, smoking status and gestational age. Results: In the first trimester, at MLR, autologous ICSI was not associated with a significantly different UtA-PI [estimate (EST) 0.01; 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.19, 0.2; P = 0.9] when compared to SC. Conversely, MC by ICSI-ED was associated with lower first trimester UtA-PI (EST - 0.32; CI - 0.55, - 0.08; P = 0.01) when compared to SC. At MLR, MC by autologous ICSI and by ICSI-ED were not associated with significant differences in the second and third trimester UtA-PI when compared to SC. Conclusion: ICSI-ED conception presented lower UtA-PI when compared to SC at 11 (+0)-13 (+6) weeks but not at later assessments. Correction of UtA-PI measurement specifying the origin of oocyte may be useful in first trimester screening.