Received April 30, 1998
Accepted October 17, 1998

Introduction: Power Doppler (PD) is an ultrasound technique with 3 times more sensitivity than color Doppler. The objective was to evaluate PD of the endometrium as a parameter for the prognosis of embryo implantation in patients submitted to ICSI. Materials and Methods: A total of 124 patients submitted to ovarian stimulation for ICSI were studied on the day of treatment with hCG (day O). PD was performed on a transverse section at the leveI of the uterine fundus. The endometrium was divided into four equal quadrants and classified as grade I, II, III or IV according to the visualization of the color signal of PD in the quadrants. The color Doppler signal was considered to be positive when it reached at least the basal layer of the endometrium. Results: Age, number of days of stimulation, number of follicles ≥16mm, number of oocytes in MII retrieved and fertilization rate did not differ between patients with the four different types of endometrial grades. Endometrial thickness and the pulsatility index of the uterine artery were also similar for the four grades. The rate of embryo implantation also did not differ significantly between groups: grade I= 10% (4/40); grade II=16.66%(13/78); grade III=15.95%(15/94); grade IV=9.14%(16/175). The pregnancy rates were: grade I=28.57%(4/14); grade II=41.66%(10/24); grade III=38.70%(12/31) and grade IV=23.36%(13/55) (p= 0.3). Discussion: The evaluation of endometrial vascularization by PD did not prove to be a good parameter for the prognosis of pregnancy in an ICS program.