Magnetic resonance imaging of abnormal placental shapes with correlation with pathologic findings.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to investigate the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) characteristics of abnormal placental shapes (APS) compared with prenatal ultrasound.

METHODS

From an initial cohort of 613 women with a high prevalence of placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) disorders, the MRI findings of 27 pregnant women with APS who underwent antenatal ultrasound and MRI examinations before delivery were retrospectively analyzed. The clinicopathological findings were used as the gold standard, and the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of antenatal MRI and a multidisciplinary team experienced in diagnosing APS were assessed.

RESULTS

The 27 patients diagnosed with APS included 14 cases of succenturiate placenta, eight cases of the bilobed placenta, two cases of the circumvallate placenta, and one case each of placenta chorioangioma, placenta membranacea, and placental mesenchymal dysplasia. The sensitivity and specificity of APS classification with antenatal MRI were 40.74% (11/27) and 97.65% (498/510), respectively. Nonetheless, the multidisciplinary team achieved a higher sensitivity and specificity of up to 96.29% (26/27) and 99.22% (506/510), respectively.

CONCLUSION

We have demonstrated the complementary role of MRI and ultrasound in the detection of placental shapes in the setting of MRI images, highlighting the importance of radiologists communicating with sonographers in the diagnosis of APS.