This week we're going into a deep dive on MCA Doppler as Dr. Moise discusses the following: 

• The initial role & importance of ultrasound in pregnancy – determining crown rump length (CRL) to then calculate the estimated date of delivery (EDD)
• How MCA Doppler was first discovered – thanks to Dr. Gian Carlo Mari
• How viscosity and cardiac output are affected in an anemic fetus
• MCA Doppler peak systolic velocity (PSV) vs. multiples of the median (MoM)
• Factors that can affect an accurate MCA Doppler reading (here’s where the cop analogy comes in)
• Angle
• Fetal movement
• Software and ultrasound equipment
• Expertise and experience
• Rescue steroids (betamethasone)
• When to start MCA surveillance and how often
• Definition of fetal hydrops
• Using MCA Dopplers vs. empiric intervals for timing IUTs
• Other fetal conditions that utilize MCA Doppler to detect fetal anemia:
• Non-immune fetal hydrops
• Parvovirus
• TAPS in twins

MCA MoM Score Calculators:

• Barcelona calculator: https://medicinafetalbarcelona.org/calc/
  • Select “Anemia” then “Cerebral Doppler”
• Perinatology: https://perinatology.com/calculators/MCA.htm

Editorial by Dr. Kenneth Moise: “ Diagnosing Hemolytic Disease of the Fetus — Time to Put the Needles Away?”

DOI: 10.1056/NEJMe068071