Rumina Tabassum, Rabia Raheel, Ambreen Bhutto, Haris Riaz, Fahad Hanif.
The risk factors associated with placenta previa in patients presented to Civil Hospital Karachi - a case control study.
Med Channel Jan ;16(2):276-9.

BACKGROUND: In placenta previa, the placenta occupies an inferior position in the uterine cavity partially or completely enclosing the cervical ostium. The condition assumes clinical significance due to significant maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. In this study we aim to explore the relative risks of several associated factors in a Pakistani population. METHODOLOGY: This retrospective case-control study includes all the cases diagnosed as Placenta previa during the study period i.e 2008. The diagnosis was confirmed or excluded by Ultra-sonography. The control group included 91 controls comprising of women whose ante natal ultrasound demonstrated placental localization in upper uterine segment, had no antepartum haemorrhage and their pregnancies ended in a normal vaginal delivery. The case records of all the patients were carefully assessed to ascertain the demographic data, mean age, parity, gravidity, history of smoking, history of previous caesarean sections, uterine fibroids, multiple gestations, myomectomy, dilatation and curettage, dilation and evacuation. SPSS 15.0 was used to analyse the data and Odds ratio were determined to establish the relative risks of different variables. RESULTS: The mean age of cases i.e. 28.7 (+ 4.9) was found to be greater than the control group (mean age 26.8 years). The mean parity and gravidity in the case group was 3.4 and 4.8 respectively while it was recorded as 2.9 and 3.6 in controls. Prematurity was associated with the greatest i.e. 31 fold risk of Placenta Previa while the Odds Ratio associated with age, parity, caesarean section, dilatation and evacuation, prematurity and uterine exploration were 2, 2.1, 5.3,1.8 and 4.2 respectively.

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