Lateral position of placenta detected on ultra-sonogram at 18 to 24 weeks of pregnancy as a predictor for development of preeclampsia

Minal Kalambe (Akare)*, Neelu Soni, Amruta Chaudhary

Choithram Hospital & Research Centre, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India

ABSTRACT

The placenta is an important organ that connects the mother to the fetus. It is a well-known cause of pregnancy hypertension. The position of the placenta and the development of preeclampsia are linked in several studies. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the percentage delay as determined by ultrasound could be used as a predictor of the development of preeclampsia. A retrospective and prospective, and observational study was done in Choithram Hospital & Research Centre, Indore. The study was done on 130 pregnant women, out of which 62 females had laterally located placenta and 68 had centrally located placenta selected randomly from November 2015 to November 2017. Preeclampsia developed in 68.09 percent of women in the lateral placenta group. Only 31.91 percent of women in the group with the central placenta developed preeclampsia. As a result, females with a laterally positioned placenta had a 3.7 times higher risk of having PIH than those with a centrally situated placenta. With a laterally placed placenta, the overall chance of having PIH was 3.769. This study, laterally located placenta increased association of development of preeclampsia in patients than centrally located placenta which reduces the hospital burden, and long term consequences of the disease thereby reducing the huge cost of critical care for mother and newborn. Thus, making ultrasonography a cost effective, practical, painless, beneficial and reliable screening tool.

Keywords:

Preeclampsia, Intrauterine death (IUD), fetal distress, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)