Potassium chloride intracardiac fetal injection and tissue degeneration at fetal autopsy following induction abortion.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the impact of potassium chloride intracardiac injection (KCl) on tissue degeneration at fetal autopsy, which may help inform termination care and autopsy expectations.

STUDY

DESIGN

In this retrospective cohort of induction abortions with fetal autopsies (N = 266), we estimated the association between KCl and fetal tissue degeneration (qualitative assessment and quantitative ratio of basophilia:eosinophilia). We used log binomal and linear regression to calculate risk ratios and mean differences with 95% confidence intervals.

RESULTS

Those who received KCl were more likely to have qualitative tissue degeneration than those who did not (RR 2.8 [95% CI 1.3-6.1]). Quantitative basophilia:eosinophilia ratios were lower among those with KCl (mean difference in cardiac tissues of -0.031 [95% CI -0.039 to -0.023]), which further supports increased tissue degeneration in these cases.

CONCLUSIONS

Fetal autopsies from induction abortions that had KCl fetal injection had increased risk of tissue degeneration compared with those that did not.