Can fetal pulmonary artery Doppler indices predict neonatal respiratory distress syndrome?

Objective: To study whether fetal main pulmonary artery (MPA) Doppler indices can predict the development of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). Study Design: This prospective cross-sectional study included pregnant women between 34 and 38+6 weeks gestation. The diagnostic accuracy of MPA Doppler measurements (systolic/diastolic (S/D) ratio, peak systolic velocity (PSV), pulsatility index (PI), resistance index (RI) and acceleration time/ejection time (At/Et)) for diagnosis of neonatal RDS was tested. Result: Of the 698 eligible fetuses, 55 (7.87%) developed neonatal RDS. PSV, PI, RI and At/Et were positively correlated with gestational age. The strongest correlation was found with At/Et ( r =0.602, P