Retrospective study of pregnant women placed under expectant management for persistent hemorrhage.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the clinicopathological characteristics of pregnant women who presented with intermittent hemorrhage occurring throughout pregnancy until delivery.

METHOD: A total of 24 women with intermittent hemorrhage occurring throughout pregnancy were categorized into two groups, a group with persistent subchorionic hematoma (PSH) and another with chronic abruption (CA), and the pregnancy outcomes were compared between the two groups. The data were expressed as medians (range).

RESULTS: There were 18 women in the PSH group and 6 women in the CA group. The median gestational age at delivery was 27.9 (22.1-33.4) weeks in the PSH group and 32.9 (24.3-33.1) weeks in the CA group, revealing a significantly earlier gestational age at delivery in the former group (p = 0.014). The percentage of the women developing acute abruption tended to be higher in the CA group [66.7 % (4/6)] than in the PSH group [26.3 % (5/18)]. Small for gestational age (SGA) infants and neonatal chronic lung disease were seen at high incidences, but only in the PSH group [21.1 % (4/18) and 42.1 % (8/18), respectively].

CONCLUSION: PSH was associated with earlier gestational age at delivery, a higher incidence of SGA infants, and poorer pregnancy outcomes than CA.