Clinical and pathological factors in spontaneous abortion following chorionic villus sampling

Abstract

Twenty-nine cases of spontaneous abortion following first-trimester chorionic villus sampling (CVS) were reviewed out of a series of 722 patients. Of the 29 cases, there were only four abnormal CVS results. Pathological examination was performed in 79 per cent of cases, and this did not identify any characteristic pathological feature associated with spontaneous abortion after CVS. There was no obvious difference in the pathological features following the transabdominal (TA) or the transcervical (TC) methods. The majority of miscarriages occurred within 4 weeks of the procedure, but 38 per cent of cases aborted between 7 and 14 weeks after CVS. The TC method was used in 22 patients; the TA in 6; and both methods in 1 patient. The TA method was associated with a significantly lower fetal loss rate than the TC method (TA 2 per cent, TC 9 per cent, p less than 0.001).

Transabdominal Chorionic Villus Sampling in the Second and Third Trimesters of High-Risk Pregnancies

“…This is in accordance with the expected higher spontaneous abortion rate in older women (Lilford, 1990;Cohen-Overbeek et al (1990b) and several studies have found a greater incidence in older women and a significant reduction when sampling took place in the second trimester of pregnancy (Jahoda et al, 1991;Monni et al, 1992;Smidt-Jensen et al, 1993). In younger women, this rate was not influenced by gestational age (McCormack et al, 1991;Monni et al, 1992). We found chromosomal aberrations in 6 per cent of all cases, but in 18 per cent of cases with abnormal ultrasound findings, which is compatible with published series (Holzgreve et al, 1990a;Monni et al, 1992;Smidt-Jensen et al, 1993).…”