European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

Vaginal bleeding in pregnancy is a common presentation in emergency obstetric care facilities. The acuity of the symptoms may vary from occasional spotting to severe hemorrhage associated with cramping and abdominal pain.100 patients with bleeding per vagina in pregnancy underwent ultrasound examination of the abdomen and pelvis conducted using curvilinear transducer of 3.5-5 MHz and transvaginal transducer of 5-9 MHz. The patients progress was followed up clinically and sonographically, when necessary. Of the 100 patients, maximum patients presenting with per vaginal bleeding were those of abortions (44%), with it being the commonest cause of bleeding in the first trimester (87.5%). The other condition encountered in the first trimester was ectopic pregnancy (12.5%), in which ultrasonography could detect the cases with an accuracy of 100%. The most common cause of bleeding in the second trimester was also abortion (44.4%) followed by placenta previa (33.3%). The type of placenta previa frequently encountered in this study was low lying placenta previa. Other causes included molar pregnancies and placental abruptions. In the third trimester, placental abruption was diagnosed in most of the cases (59.38%) with only 21.7% cases of abruption placenta cases showing favourable outcome. Ultrasonography should be the primary modality of investigation to determine the cause of bleeding in a case of antepartum hemorrhage