Sonographic Findings of Morbidly Adherent Placenta in the First Trimester

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between first-trimester sonographic findings and morbidly adherent placenta at delivery.

We conducted a retrospective review of all first-trimester sonographic examinations from pregnancies that underwent third-trimester sonography for placenta previa or low-lying placenta between September 1997 and October 2011. Only women with a prior cesarean delivery were included. Transabdominal and transvaginal images from these first-trimester studies were reviewed for the following sonographic parameters: distance from the inferior border of the gestational sac to the external cervical os, location of the decidua basalis, presence of anechoic areas, uterine-bladder interface irregularity, and smallest anterior myometrial thickness. Morbidly adherent placentation was confirmed on histologic examination of hysterectomy specimens. Statistical methods included univariate and multivariate analyses.

Thirty-nine patients met inclusion criteria, of whom 14 (36%) had confirmed placental invasion. The number of prior cesarean deliveries was significantly associated with placental invasion (P < .0001). The only first-trimester sonographic finding associated with invasion was the smallest anterior myometrial thickness measured in the sagittal plane (P < .02). Multivariate analysis based on these two variables yielded an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.94 (95% confidence interval, 0.87-1.00) and significantly improved the prediction of placental invasion compared to using the number of prior cesarean deliveries alone.

In women with persistent placenta previa or low-lying placenta and prior cesarean delivery, the smallest anterior myometrial thickness on first-trimester sonography significantly improved detection of morbidly adherent placenta.