Objective: Antenatal diagnosis of placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) is critical to reduce maternal morbidity. While clinical outcomes of women with PAS have been extensively described, little information is available regarding the women who undergo cesarean delivery with a presumptive PAS diagnosis which is not confirmed by histopathologic examination. We sought to examine resource utilization and clinical outcomes of this group of women with a false-positive diagnosis of PAS.
Study design: Retrospective analysis of patients with prenatally diagnosed PAS cared for between 2015 and 2020 by our multidisciplinary PAS team. Maternal outcomes were examined. Univariate analysis was performed and a multivariate model was employed to compare outcomes between women with and without histopathologically confirmed PAS.
Results: A total of 162 patients delivered with the pre-operative diagnosis of PAS. Of these, 146 (90%) underwent hysterectomy and had histopathologic confirmation of PAS. Thirteen women did not undergo the planned hysterectomy. Three women underwent hysterectomy but pathologic examination did not confirm PAS. In comparing women with and without pathologic confirmation of PAS, the false positive PAS group delivered later in pregnancy (34 vs. 33 weeks of gestation, P=0.015) and had more planned surgery (88% vs. 47%, P = 0.002). There was no difference in skin incision type or hysterotomy placement for delivery. No significant difference in either the estimated blood loss or blood components transfused was noted between groups.
Conclusion: Careful intraoperative evaluation of women with pre-operatively presumed PAS resulted in a 3/149 (2%) retrospectively unnecessary hysterectomy. Management of women with PAS in experienced centers benefits patients both in terms of resource utilization and avoidance of unnecessary maternal morbidity, understanding that our results are produced in a center of excellence for PAS. We also propose a management protocol to assist in the avoidance of unnecessary hysterectomy in women with the pre-operative diagnosis of PAS.
The new pathology classification for placenta accreta spectrum is well associated with clinical outcomes
