Perinatal outcome of chorionic villus sampling versus amniocentesis

This study assesses the relative risks of first trimester transcervical chorionic villus sampling (CVS) versus midtrimester amniocentesis performed between April 1986 and March 1988. The most common indication for prenatal diagnosis was advanced maternal age. We discovered 5.1% chromosomal aberrations in CVS compared to 1.0% in amniocentesis. Bleeding was the most frequent early complication, and only 1 case had major hemorrhage with subsequent spontaneous abortion. The fetal loss rate (gestational age less than 28 weeks) was 4.5% in CVS versus 1.2% in amniocentesis, which was not significantly different from the background fetal loss rate reported in normal pregnancies after an 8-week gestational age. Three cases of fetal loss after CVS were probably procedure-related; 1 case had spontaneous abortion and 2 cases had chorioamnionitis. Therefore, we considered that the causal relationship between CVS and the infection was highly probable. The clinical pregnancy outcome indicated that there were no differences in overall perinatal mortality, Apgar score, body weight, body length, gestational age at delivery, intrauterine growth retardation, placenta weight and placental disorders between the CVS group and the amniocentesis group. The pregnancies did not reveal any specific effects of the prenatal diagnostic procedure, but a long-term pediatric follow-up is needed.