Clinical Study for Fetal Death in Utero / 대한산부인과학회지

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence, causes and maternal complications in cases of fetal death in utero (FDIU). METHODS: This is a clinical study of 224 cases of FDIU among 10,582 deliveries at 00 University Hospital during January 1990 to December 2004. All the clinical informations were obtained by reviewing medical records retrospectively. RESULTS: The average incidence of FDIU was 2.1%. The mean age of mothers with FDIU was 28.5 years old. The mean gestational age was 30.4 weeks and mean weight of dead fetus was 1442 gm. The causes of FDIU were placenta abuptio (14.3%), severe preeclampsia (13.4%), congenital anomalies (9.4%), severe intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR, 9.4%), nuchal cord (6.7%), chrioamnionitis (5.8%). However the causes of FDIU were largely unknown (18.8%). The modes of delivery were induced labor (65.2%), laparotomy (26.8%), spontaneous labor (8.0%). The most common indication of laparotomy was placenta abuptio (36.7%). There were 66 cases (29.5%) with maternal complications and common complications were hemorrhage (11.2%), fever (8.5%), DIC (5.8%). The incidence of hypofibrinogenemia (<150 mg/dL) was 14.3%. CONCLUSION: The most common suspected causes of FDIU were placenta abruptio, severe preeclampsia and the causes could not be determined in 42 cases (18.8%). The proper prenatal care should be taken of fetuses on the basis of risk factors of antepartum and intrapartum so that unnecessary intrauterine fetal death might be able to be prevented.

The Clinical Study of Fetal Death in Utero / 대한주산의학회잡지

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical characteristics and etiologic factors of pregnancies with fetal death in utero (FDIU). METHODS: Retrospective review of medical records of 184 pregnancies with FDIU between March 1996 and March 2006 was conducted and descriptive analysis was done. Medical records were unavailable in 14 cases which were excluded in the analysis of etiology and diagnostic evaluation. RESULTS: The overall incidence was 1.31%. There was no significant difference in the yearly incidence during the study period. Age distribution of FDIU was between 18 and 44 and the incidence was highest in 25~29 year-old age group. The risk analysis showed statistically significant risk in the age group under 25 (OR, 2.455) and 25~29 (OR, 1.590) compared to 30~34 year-old age group. The risk of age group beyond 35 has a tendency to increase but was not statistically significant. FDIU was the most prevalent (38.58%) among pregnancies less than 29 weeks of gestation. Most of cases were delivered vaginally (86.5%). Etiologic factors included unexplained causes (37.1%), fetal factors (29.4%), placental and cord factors (18.2%) and maternal factors (15.3%). Autopsy was done in 128 cases (75.3%) and placental pathology was examined in 148 cases (87.1%). Among the workups done, autopsy and placental pathology were the most informative. CONCLUSION: Despite the advance of prenatal care, the incidence of FDIU was steady throughout the study period. The etiology of the largest proportion was unexplained. Once FDIU is diagnosed, prompt delivery should be done and appropriate diagnostic tests should be offered to aid in next pregnancy.

A Clinical Analysis of Intrauterine Fetal Death / 대한주산의학회잡지

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the causes, methods of delivery, and maternal complications in cases of fetal death in utero(FDIU) at Samsung Medical Center. METHODS: There were 92 cases of FDIU among 25,195 deliveries at Samsung Medical Center during 7 years from 1994 to 2001. In these cases, perinatal autopsy and placental biopsy was performed in 35 and 71 cases, respectively. All the clinical informations were obtained by reviewing medical records retrospectively. RESULTS: The overall incidence of FDIU was 0.37%. Most of FDIU occurred in 25 to 29 years old group(43.5%). Recurrence rate of FDIU was 3.3%. Most of FDIU were low birth weight(79.3%) and preterm(79.6%). The modes of delivery were induced labor(68.5%), laparotomy(18.5%), and the spontaneous delivery(13.0%). The causes of FDIU were chorioamnionitis(15.2%), placental abruption(14.1%), severe preeclampsia(11.9%), congenital and chromosomal anomaly(6.5%), but it was unexplained in 27.2%. There were 25 cases with maternal complications and the most common complications were intra-/postpartum fever(18.5%), postpartum hemorrhage(8.7%) and DIC(8.7%). CONCLUSION: The causes of FDIU could not be determined in only about 1/4 cases at Samsung Medical Center. Since FDIU recurred in 3.3%, thorough studies including perinatal autopsy and chromosomal study must be made on stillborn infants and placenta to determine the recurrent causes.