Placenta accreta: evaluation with color Doppler US, power Doppler US, and MR imaging

• Published in: Radiology Vol. 205; no. 3; p. 773
• Main Authors: Levine, D, Hulka, C A, Ludmir, J, Li, W, Edelman, R R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01-12-1997
• Subjects: Female; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Placenta - pathology; Placenta Accreta - diagnosis; Placenta Accreta - diagnostic imaging; Pregnancy; Risk Factors; Sensitivity and Specificity; Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color; Ultrasonography, Prenatal
• ISSN: 0033-8419
• DOI: 10.1148/radiology.205.3.9393534

To determine the value of transabdominal ultrasound (US), transvaginal US, color Doppler US, power Doppler US, and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in the diagnosis of placenta accreta.
Nineteen patients in the third trimester of pregnancy who were at risk for placenta accreta underwent color Doppler and power Doppler US; 18 patients also underwent MR imaging. Images were interpreted prospectively for signs of accreta by two reviewers. The reviewers' confidence in their diagnosis was graded on a five-point scale.
Outcomes at delivery were as follows: normal placenta (n = 11), hysterectomy owing to uncontrollable bleeding (n = 1), and placenta accreta (n = 7). Five cases of lower-uterine-segment placenta accreta were diagnosed with a high level of confidence with vaginal and power Doppler US. In one patient with a posterior placenta who had previously undergone myomectomy, MR imaging enabled the diagnosis of placenta accreta, which was not well depicted at US.
In patients with a history of uterine scars, vaginal US with power Doppler US performed well in the evaluation of lower-uterine-segment placenta accreta. MR imaging depicts posterior placenta accreta.