The review of 55 cases of placental failure and the results obtained reveal a 54% mortality rate.
PIP: 55 pregnant women admitted to the Gynecological Institute of the University of Torino were studied. The age range was 19 to 42 years with a median of 29.3 there were 25 nulliparae, 16 primiparae, and 14 pluriparae. The diagnosis of placental insufficiency was based on clinical and laboratory data consisting of accurate anamnesis, measurement of the height of the base of the uterus, ultrasonographic biometric measurements, and plasma serum human placental lactogen (HPL), and estriol (E3) values. A cardiotocographic check determined the fetal condition. The intrauterine mortality rate of the fetus was 3.5% (2 cases), and in 1 case the death of the newborn was verified 48 hours after birth. there were 34 (61.9%) spontaneous births and 21 (38.1%) with cesarean section. Pregnancy lasted 34 weeks in 23 cases and in the remaining instances it was 39-40 weeks. The weight of the newborn was less than the 10 percentile of the classic Lubchenko curve in 26 cases, while in 28 cases it ranged from 10 to 90 percentile. Recent indicated that the average weight of the newborn was 2246 gm with a standard deviation of 425 gm. An apparent correlation could be established between the weight of the placenta and that of the newborn as well as the high incidence of cesarean sections (38.1%) and perinatal mortality (54%).