Objective: Our purpose was to define the clinical risk factors associated with placenta previa-placenta accreta.
Study design: Hospital records were reviewed of all cases of placenta accreta confirmed histologically between January 1985 and December 1994. Additionally, we reviewed the records of all women with placenta previa and all those undergoing cesarean hysterectomy during the same period. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent clinical risk factors for placenta accreta.
Results: Among 155,670 deliveries, 62 (1/2510) were complicated by histologically confirmed placenta accreta. Placenta accreta occurred in 55 of 590 (9.3%) women with placenta previa and in 7 of 155,080 (1/22,154) without placenta previa (relative risk 2065, 95% confidence interval 944 to 4516, p < 0.0001). Among women with placenta previa, advanced maternal age (> or = 35 years) and previous cesarean delivery were independent risk factors for placenta accreta. Placenta accreta was present in 36 of 124 (29%) cases in which the placenta was implanted over the uterine scar and in 4 of 62 (6.5%) cases in which it was not (relative risk 4.5, 95% confidence interval 1.68 to 12.07). Among women with placenta previa, the risk of placenta accreta ranged from 2% in women < 35 years old with no previous cesarean deliveries to almost 39% in women with two or more previous cesarean deliveries and an anterior or central placenta previa.
Conclusion: Placenta accreta occurs in approximately 1 of 2500 deliveries. Among women with placenta previa, the incidence is nearly 10%. In this high-risk group advanced maternal age and previous cesarean section are independent risk factors.