Influence of placental position on outcome in patients with placental abruption.

We retrospectively analyzed the clinical significance of placental position in patients with placental abruption by comparing cases in which the placenta was implanted on the anterior wall of the uterus (n=17) and those in which the placenta was on the posterior wall (n=12). There were no significant differences in clinical features of patients or pregnancy outcomes between the two groups. In this study, all patients with an anterior-wall placenta received a diagnosis of placental abruption prenatally, whereas only 8 patients (67%, p=0.01) with posterior-wall placenta received a diagnosis of placental abruption prenatally. Serious consideration should be given to the diagnosis of placental abruption in patients with a posterior-wall placenta.