Emerg Radiol (2009) 16:365-373 DOI
Sindy H. Wei , Mohammad Helmy , Allen J. Cohen
Abstract
The purpose of the study was to assess the possibility of placental injury detection on computed tomog¬raphy (CT) in pregnant trauma patients. The images and dictated reports of 44 CT scan^ of pregnant women who presented to the University of California Irvine Medical Center (UCIMC) from 2003 to 2008 for traumatic abdominal conditions were reviewed for placental abruption. Perform¬ances of original dictated reports, an untrained reviewer, and a trained reviewer (who was trained on 22 non-traumatic scans) were compared. Of the 66 pregnant women who received abdominal CT scans, 44 sustained abdominal trauma. Seven suffered placental abruptions, all of which were identified on CT. Sensitivity and specificity were 100% and 79.5%, respectively, for the untrained reviewer, 100% and 82.1% for the trained reviewer, and 42.9% and 89.7% for the original dictated reports. Placental abruptions are often overlooked on CT scan. Sensitivity may be improved by systematic evaluation of the placenta and specificity by training on normal placental morphology.