[Placental abruption: Background and revisited pronostic factors about a series of 171 cases].

OBJECTIVE

To describe the epidemiological, clinical and prognostic factors of placental abruption and fetal death in utero and to investigate possible risk factors for their occurrence.

PATIENTS AND

METHODS

Observational retrospective study including the women having presented a placental abruption between January 2001 and January 2012, in a IIB maternity. Women's sociodemographic characteristics, clinical symptoms and the method used to detect placental abruption were collected. Patient data of those whose pregnancy resulted in fetal death were compared to those with more favorable outcomes.

RESULTS

There were 171 cases of placental abruption among 21,913 patients having delivered, which represents a 0.78% incidence. Diagnosis was rarely based on clinical data (30%). The rate of fetal death in utero represented 25% of the pregnancy's outcomes. A history of fetal death in utero increased the risk of placental abruption (P<0.001). This complication was more frequent for patients who did not have pregnancy monitoring (P=0.054) and before 37 weeks of amenorrhoea (P=0.005).

CONCLUSION

Placental abruption is an important cause of perinatal mortality and maternal morbidity. Among the observed risk factors, only regular pregnancy monitoring can be an easy way to prevent these complications.