Evaluierung des intrauterinen Fruchttods

Aims

Intrauterine death is a multifactorial major complication during pregnancy. In this retrospective analysis the pathological anatomical findings of fetuses and placentas as well as maternal factors were evaluated.

Material and methods

A retrospective screening of post-mortem examinations, corresponding placental examinations and clinical data on maternal status (1998–2008) was carried out. A classification of all findings was made with the ReCoDe system and induced abortions and cases with incomplete data were excluded from the study.

Results

A total of 84 pregnancies involving 87 fetuses (9 siblings) were evaluated. The median gestation age was 20 weeks (range 12–41). The evaluation based on the ReCoDe system revealed that intrauterine death was mainly associated with placental diseases (n?=?63) and to a lesser extent with fetal malformations (n?=?15) or maternal diseases (n?=?4). Idiopathic cases were rare (n?=?2).

Conclusions

Placental examination is important for explaining intrauterine death because in most cases an association with placental diseases can be found but fetal malformation and maternal diseases must be taken into account.