Diagnostic Accuracy of Ultrasonography in Diagnosing Morbidly Adherent Placenta, Taking Intra-Operative Findings as Gold Standard

Abstract

Objective: Various imaging modalities can be employed for the placenta accreta diagnosis like USG and MRI, however, their exact diagnostic accuracy is yet to be established. This study was conducted for determining the accuracy of ultrasonography in diagnosing morbidly adherent placenta in women with a previous scar, taking the per-operative findings as gold standard. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out at department of Radiology, Benazir Bhutto Hospital, Rawalpindi from 6th January 2019 to 5th July 2019. Using non-probability purposive sampling 118 pregnant women with single pregnancy of age 18-40 years were included. Both grey scale and color doppler findings of ultrasound were employed for ascertaining presence or absence of morbidly adherent placenta. Per-operative findings of all patients who underwent cesarean section afterwards in their respective wards were registered. The findings of USG were then compared with the per-operative observations. Results: Among patients in whom USG findings were of morbidly adherent placenta, 60 were true positive while 05 were false positive, whereas, in the patients with no evidence of morbidly adherent placenta on USG, 03 were false negative while 50 were true negative. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value negative predictive value and diagnostic accuracy of USG in diagnosing morbidly adherent placenta in previous scar women, taking per -operative findings as gold standard was 95.24%, 90.91%, 92.31%, 94.34% and 93.22% respectively. Conclusion: It can be inferred from our study that USG is a very sensitive and accurate non-invasive imaging technique for the diagnosis of morbidly adherent placenta. Keywords: morbidly adherent placenta, ultrasonography, sensitivity. How to cite: Yousaf A., Durrani M., Riaz K., Kalsoom U., Parvez H. Diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonography in diagnosing morbidly adherent placenta, taking intra-operative findings as gold standard. Esculapio. 2021; 17(01): 71-74