A comparison of pregnancy loss between transcervical and transabdominal chorionic villus sampling

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the comparative safety of transcervical and transabdominal chorionic villus sampling (CVS).

Methods: From May 1988 to January 1992, CVS was performed by two operators at 9-12 weeks' gestation in 1048 singleton pregnancies. The sampling method for each patient, transabdominal or transcervical, was chosen primarily based upon placental location; the transabdominal route was used for anterior or fundal location and the transcervical route for posterior placentation. Perinatal outcome was assessed by post-procedure patient telephone contact, mid-gestation ultrasound evaluation, postpartum questionnaire completed by the referring obstetrician, and telephone interview with each patient after delivery.

Results: Complete follow-up was available in 1012 cases (97%). Excluding 39 elective abortions, 35 of 973 euploid pregnancies aborted spontaneously. The difference in fetal loss rate between transcervical and transabdominal CVS approached statistical significance (5.2 versus 2.9%; P = .058). Bleeding before CVS (P = .006) and multiple placental aspirations (P = .022) were associated with fetal loss for the entire study group. An interaction between uterine position and sampling method was also indicated; an increased loss rate was associated with transcervical CVS in the presence of uterine retroversion (P = .0017).

Conclusion: Despite choosing the preferred CVS method for each patient, an increased loss rate may be associated with transcervical sampling in the presence of uterine retroversion.