Prenatal ultrasound diagnosis of vasa praevia and analysis of risk factors

Objective To evaluate the role of ultrasound in prenatal diagnosis of vasa praevia (VP) and to asses the risk of VP associated with different causal factors. Material and Methods A retrospective study of the incidence of VP in a series of 12063 deliveries between January 2000 and March 2005. We also studied the factors that predisposed for VP and the perinatal outcome of pregnancies. Results The prevalence of VP in our centre during this period was 0.07% (9 cases). All cases were prenatally diagnosed. The mean gestational age at diagnosis was 26 weeks. Multivariate analysis revealed the following associated factors: IVF pregnancies, bilobate or succenturiate placenta, and second-trimester placenta praevia, with an odds ratio of 7.75, 22.11 and 22.86, respectively. Conclusions In our series, the prenatal diagnosis of all cases of VP achieved during the second-trimester scan allowed us to avoid any prenatal death related to this condition. Copyright (c) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.