Iraqi Postgraduate Medical Journal

Abstract

ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND:
The diagnosis of placental abruption is mostly clinical, histopathological diagnosis is poorly
sensitive. Acute and chronic inflammatory processes had been proposed to cause placental
abruption evidences that supports this remains sparse
OBJECTIVE:
To assess the correlation between the clinical diagnosis and histopathological findings of
placental abruption and to examine the profile of chronic and acute histological lesions associated
with clinical abruption.
PATIENTS AND METHOD:
The study included fifty singleton pregnant women with a suspected clinical diagnosis of
placental abruption compared to fifty consecutive normal pregnancies ( control group), attending
AL -Yarmouk Teaching Hospital over a period of twelve months, from the first of April 2010 to
the end of march 2011 . Examination of the concordance between clinical indicators for placental
abruption with those of a histological diagnosis was done. The profile of acute and chronic
lesions was also examined histopathologically.
RESULTS:
Among the fifty clinically diagnosed placental abruption cases , thirteen percent (fifteen patients)
were confirmed as placental abruption based on gross and histological findings . The most
common indication leading to a clinical diagnosis of abruption was evidence of retroplacental
clot(s) or bleeding . Acute lesions that were associated with abruption with confirmed pathology
included chorioamnionitis , and chorionic villous hemorrhage . Among the chronic lesions,
chronic deciduitis, decidul vasculopathy, & dysmaturation were associated with pathologically
confirmed placental abruption.
CONCLUSION:
The relation between clinical & histological diagnosis of placental abruption remains weak.
Acute and chronic histological lesions were observed more frequently in placentas of pregnancies
complicated by placental abruption than the control cases