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ArticleTitle	Value of Ultrasonography in the Diagnosis of Placental Abruption
AuthorList	Mariko Kikutani, Kaisuke Ishihara and Tsutomu Araki
Affiliation	Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nippon Medical School
Language	EN
Volume	70
Issue	3
Year	2003
Page	227-233
Received	October 21, 2002
Accepted	November 27, 2002
Keywords	placental abruption, ultrasonography, placental edge separation, apgar score, disseminated intravascular coagulation
Abstract	Placental abruption is a serious cause of fetal mortality. We retrospectively reviewed 24 patients with placental abruption who underwent cesarean section to evaluate ultrasonographic images with reference to the clinical findings and fetal and maternal prognosis. Fourteen of these patients presenting with placental edge separation and persistent hematoma showed a significantly smaller area of abruption, a smaller amount of intraoperative bleeding, a smaller incidence of disseminated intravascular coagulation, and a higher Apgar score as compared to the 10 patients with a thickened placenta. The patients with thickened placenta tended to have a typical clinical presentation, whereas those with plancental edge separation and hematoma appeared to have an atypical and mild clinical manifestation. It was concluded that ultrasonography is useful in the diagnosis of mild and atypical placental abruption.
Correspondence to	Mariko Kikutani, MD, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nippon Medical School Second Hospital, 1-396 Kosugi-cho, Nakahara-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 211-8533, Japan kikutakemari@aol.com