Precision of umbilical artery Doppler studies. Intraobserver, interobserver, and biologic variability of fetal Doppler velocimetry

The use of Doppler ultrasound to study fetal blood flow has become commonplace, despite the lack of detailed evaluation of the testing tool for precision. In evaluation of 25 patients, no significant intraobserver differences were found between readings on an individual waveform, nor were there significant differences between different observers on individual waveforms. Temporally separated waveforms within a 30-minute window gave the greatest variation. A multi-way analysis of variance noted significant differences in this category only. This study confirmed the precision of measurements by a single observer and between observers. Only biological alterations over time displayed significant variability.