VP02.08: Effect of lifestyle on uteroplacental vascularisation using three-dimensional vaginal power Doppler in couples undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection

Many factors that are integrated in the daily life of most men and women (smoking, caffeine, exercises, BMI, alcohol) may affect the physiological changes inside the uterus and result in poor maternal blood flow to the fetoplacental unit. Consequently, this reduces oxygen and nutrient delivery to the fetus which can cause ischemia reperfusion injury and vascular obstetrical complications. Three-dimensional (3D) vaginal power Doppler (3DVPD) is a quantitative assessment of blood circulation. Our objective was to study if 3DVPD applied on endometrium and myometrium around gestational sac could be affected by life style in intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) patients. This was a prospective observational study at AL HADI IVF CENTER, 123 singleton pregnancies conceived after Intra-cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) procedure, between January 2019 and June 2020 were recruited. At 3 week of gestation, 3D vaginal power Doppler was applied by the same operator around the gestational sacs to calculate 3 indices: vascular index (VI) flow index (FI) and vascular flow index (VFI). The indices are calculated by the ultrasound built-in computer using specially developed software (VOCAL). Patients were asked to fill a questionnaire concerning smoking, caffeine consumption, height and weight and sport exercise. No correlation was found between actual smoking, cumulative previous exposure to smoking or caffeine consumption with any of 3DVPD indices. Concerning sport exercises, no difference between any of the 3DVPD parameters and the number of daily hours of exercise. BMI was divided into 5 categories, none of them was associated with any indices of 3DVPD. It is the first study to assess the impact of life style parameters on the materno-fetal vascularisation using the 3D vaginal power Doppler. None of the variable tested (obesity, smoking, caffeine consumption and sport) was identify as a determinant of 3DVPD indices at 5 weeks of gestation. A study should be conducted to analyse this effect at later stages.