Uterine arterial embolization to assist induction of labor among patients with complete placenta previa.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate labor induction after uterine arterial embolization (UAE) among patients with complete placenta previa (CPP).

METHODS

A prospective study was conducted of women with a singleton pregnancy (16-35 weeks) and CPP admitted to a center in Changsha, China, for induction of labor because of a fetal anomaly between March 2009 and December 2013. Patients underwent intervention-assisted labor induction (IALI) with UAE, or cesarean delivery. A control group of 30 women without CPP but undergoing labor induction was also enrolled. Hemoglobin levels, postpartum blood loss, and length of labor were assessed.

RESULTS

Mean postpartum blood loss was lower in the IALI group (n=32; 301.25±128.07 mL) than in the cesarean group (n=15; 693.33±244.85 mL; P=0.049), but was not different from that in the control group (143.50±16.06 mL; P=0.325). The reduction in mean hemoglobin level was significantly lower in the IALI group (-6.53±2.20 g/L) than in the cesarean group (-8.40±2.17g/L; P=0.005), but higher than in the control group (-0.20±0.35 g/L; P=0.007). Duration of labor did not differ between the IALI and control groups (8.70±2.32 vs 4.76±0.47 hours; P=0.108).

CONCLUSION

UAE to assist induction of labor could be considered a feasible option for patients with CPP.