Eye artery ultrasound after delivery in women with high blood pressure in pregnancy
Studies a simple eye artery ultrasound in women after pregnancy-related high blood pressure.
Plain-language title generated from the registry record
Registry title: Ophthalmic Artery Doppler in the Puerperium After Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy (OPHELIA-PP)
Key facts
- Where
- Roma, ItalySee the site
Where in Italy
- Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Policlinico Umberto I, Department of Maternal and Child Health and Urological SciencesRoma, ItalyNo longer taking part
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Trial details
- Who runs it
- University of Roma La Sapienza
- Trial code
- NCT07841795
- Record updated
- 25 September 2026
- Original description
Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy frequently fail to resolve at delivery. A substantial proportion of women remain hypertensive at the six-week postnatal review, postpartum eclampsia occurs days to weeks after birth, and a minority show persisting renal dysfunction. Attendance at postnatal follow-up is nonetheless poor and specialist resources are limited, so a simple bedside test that identified the women whose cardiovascular recovery is incomplete would allow surveillance to be targeted.Read full original descriptionShow less
Ophthalmic Artery Doppler in the Puerperium and Maternal Outcomes After Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy: a Prospective Cohort Study
Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy frequently fail to resolve at delivery. A substantial proportion of women remain hypertensive at the six-week postnatal review, postpartum eclampsia occurs days to weeks after birth, and a minority show persisting renal dysfunction. Attendance at postnatal follow-up is nonetheless poor and specialist resources are limited, so a simple bedside test that identified the women whose cardiovascular recovery is incomplete would allow surveillance to be targeted.
Ophthalmic artery Doppler is non-invasive, takes about five minutes and requires only a linear transducer already present in obstetric units. Its antenatal performance is well characterised, but a systematic review by this group (PROSPERO CRD420261488689) identified only three studies in thirty years addressing the postpartum period, two of which included a normotensive comparator, totalling 131 women. None reported a threshold or any measure of diagnostic accuracy, and none recorded antihypertensive treatment at the time of scanning.
This prospective cohort study will measure ophthalmic artery Doppler indices at four timepoints between delivery and three months in women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and in normotensive controls, and will determine whether the peak systolic velocity ratio measured 24 to 48 hours after delivery predicts persistent hypertension at the six-week postnatal review.
Inclusion: Exposed Cohort; Age 18 years or older; Hypertensive disorder of pregnancy diagnosed by ISSHP 2018 criteria: pre-eclampsia, gestational hypertension, chronic hypertension, chronic hypertension with superimposed pre-eclampsia, eclampsia or HELLP syndrome; Or de novo postpartum hypertension or pre-eclampsia arising within 48 hours of delivery after a normotensive pregnancy; Delivery at a participating centre, at any gestational age and by any mode of delivery; Written informed consent; Comparison cohort:; Age 18 years or older; Normotensive pregnancy without hypertensive complications; Delivery at a participating centre; Written informed consent; Enrolled concurrently at a 1:2 ratio relative to the exposed cohort, matched by age band and parity.
Exclusion: Known ocular disease affecting the orbital circulation: glaucoma, proliferative retinopathy, previous orbital surgery or ocular trauma; Known carotid artery stenosis or previous cerebrovascular event; Significant structural heart disease; Known chronic kidney disease stage 3 or above; Diabetes mellitus with end-organ damage; Inability to undergo the examination because of clinical instability or refusal; Foreseeable inability to complete follow-up; Inability to give informed consent.