Placental histology for targeted risk assessment of recurrent spontaneous preterm birth

Spontaneous preterm birth significantly increases the risk for a recurrent preterm birth. Only a few identifiable clinical risk factors can be referenced in counseling for recurrent preterm birth. Furthermore, treatment using progesterone supplementation has not consistently prevented preterm birth among high-risk patients, but it may be effective in a subset of those patients. Placental pathology from a previous pregnancy may be used to predict which patients will experience a recurrent preterm birth or to identify a subset of patients more likely to respond to treatment with antenatal progesterone.

This study aimed to determine if histologic patterns are associated with recurrent preterm birth among patients with an index spontaneous preterm birth. A secondary objective was to determine if placental histologic types and/or progesterone receptor density in the decidua are associated with the response to progesterone supplementation with intramuscular 17-hydroxyprogesterone caproate.

This was a retrospective cohort study at a single institution of women with singleton pregnancies with an index spontaneous preterm birth and a subsequent birth within the same hospital system between 2009 and 2019. Patients were included if placental pathology was available for the index spontaneous preterm birth. A logistic regression was used to determine if there were independent associations between 4 histologic types (acute inflammation, maternal vascular malperfusion, fetal vascular malperfusion, chronic inflammation) and recurrent preterm birth. For the secondary endpoint, 17-hydroxyprogesterone caproate response was defined as prolonging gestation by >3 weeks beyond the gestational age at delivery in the index pregnancy. Patients who delivered <3 weeks beyond the gestational age in the index pregnancy but at ≥39 weeks' gestation were excluded. A logistic regression was used to assess the independent association between placental histology and 17-hydroxyprogesterone caproate response. Sensitivity analyses were completed using only patients with an index birth <36 weeks' gestation, and then excluding those with medically indicated preterm birth in a subsequent pregnancy. A nested case-control immunohistochemical study was done among 20 patients with a subsequent term birth and 20 patients with a subsequent spontaneous preterm birth. The percentage of cells in the maternal decidua positive for progesterone receptors was correlated with the subsequent pregnancy outcome.

A total of 352 patients were included. Acute inflammation was the most common histologic type seen among patients with spontaneous preterm birth (44.1%), followed by chronic inflammation (40.9%) and maternal vascular malperfusion (31.3%). No histologic type was independently associated with recurrent preterm birth. A total of 155 patients received 17-hydroxyprogesterone caproate in a second pregnancy. Low-grade acute inflammation was significantly associated with a decreased likelihood of 17-hydroxyprogesterone caproate response. Low-grade maternal vascular malperfusion among those with an index pregnancy delivered at <36 weeks' gestation was significantly associated with a more than 4 times increased likelihood of 17-hydroxyprogesterone caproate response when excluding those with a subsequent iatrogenic preterm birth. Progesterone receptor staining was not associated with recurrent preterm birth.

Although acute inflammation was prevalent among spontaneous preterm births, more than half of the spontaneous preterm births were not associated with acute inflammation. Low-grade acute inflammation was associated with a significantly decreased response to 17-hydroxyprogesterone caproate supplementation. Low-grade maternal vascular malperfusion was associated with a 4-fold increased likelihood of 17-hydroxyprogesterone caproate response among those with index deliveries <36 weeks' gestation. Further work is needed to determine if placental pathologic examination can be used to target treatment in subsequent pregnancies to prevent recurrent preterm birth.