Are maternal and neonatal outcomes different in placental abruption between women with and without preeclampsia?

Introduction: Placental abruption is a serious pregnancy complication that causes maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity. Whether maternal and neonatal outcomes differ between patients who concurrently presented with preeclampsia and those who did not, have not been fully investigated. Methods: A total number of 158 patients with placental abruption were included. Of them, 66 concurrently had preeclampsia. Maternal and neonatal characteristics including delivery weeks, time of onset and birthweight as well as the grade of placental abruption were collected and analysed. Results: The time at diagnosis of placental abruption in patients who concurrently presented preeclampsia was significantly earlier than that in patients who did not. The number of patients with grade III placental abruption was significantly higher in patients who concurrently presented with preeclampsia, compared to patients who did not. The odds ratio of an increase in grade III placental abruption in patients who concurrently presented preeclampsia was 5.27 (95% CL: 2.346, 12.41), compared to patients who did not. The numbers of infants who were born pre-term and the numbers of stillbirth/neonatal deaths as well as the number of fetal distress were significantly higher in patients who concurrently presented with preeclampsia, compared to patients who did not. The fetal birthweight was significantly lower in patients who concurrently presented with preeclampsia compared to patients who did not. Discussion: Our study demonstrates that women with preeclampsia experiencing placental abruption had worse maternal, fetal and neonatal outcomes, compared to women experiencing placental abruption alone.