First trimester markers of preeclampsia in twins: maternal mean arterial pressure and uterine artery Doppler pulsatility index

ABSTRACT Objective This study aims to evaluate the distribution of mean arterial pressure (MAP) and uterine artery Doppler pulsatility index (PI) in first trimester twins with and without preeclampsia. Method A total of 147 twins were recruited from a specialist clinic and 110 unaffected singleton pregnancies attending the same institution served as controls. MAP and Doppler PI values were expressed in multiples of the gestation‐specific median using published equations. Results Among the twins, 12 had preeclampsia and two had pregnancy‐induced hypertension. Among unaffected pregnancies, there was no significant difference in MAP levels between twins and singletons (P = 0.17, Wilcoxon rank sum test, two‐tail). However, the Doppler PI levels were highly statistically significantly lower than in singletons (P