Prediction of Success in External Cephalic Version under Tocolysis: Still a Challenge

Authors

  • Carolina Vaz de Macedo Departamento/Clínica Universitária de Obstetrícia e Ginecologia. Hospital Universitário de Santa Maria. Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Norte. Lisboa. Portugal. Faculdade de Medicina. Universidade de Lisboa. CAM-Centro Académico de Medicina de Lisboa. Lisboa. Portugal.
  • Nuno Clode Departamento/Clínica Universitária de Obstetrícia e Ginecologia. Hospital Universitário de Santa Maria. Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Norte. Lisboa. Portugal. Faculdade de Medicina. Universidade de Lisboa. CAM-Centro Académico de Medicina de Lisboa. Lisboa. Portugal.
  • Luís Mendes da Graça Departamento/Clínica Universitária de Obstetrícia e Ginecologia. Hospital Universitário de Santa Maria. Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Norte. Lisboa. Portugal. Faculdade de Medicina. Universidade de Lisboa. CAM-Centro Académico de Medicina de Lisboa. Lisboa. Portugal.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.20344/amp.6179

Keywords:

Breech Presentation, Pregnancy, Tocolysis, Treatment Outcome, Version, Fetal.

Abstract

Introduction: External cephalic version is a procedure of fetal rotation to a cephalic presentation through manoeuvres applied to the maternal abdomen. There are several prognostic factors described in literature for external cephalic version success and prediction scores have been proposed, but their true implication in clinical practice is controversial. We aim to identify possible factors that could contribute to the success of an external cephalic version attempt in our population.
Material and Methods: We retrospectively examined 207 consecutive external cephalic version attempts under tocolysis conducted between January 1997 and July 2012. We consulted the department’s database for the following variables: race, age, parity, maternal body mass index, gestational age, estimated fetal weight, breech category, placental location and amniotic fluid index. We performed descriptive and analytical statistics for each variable and binary logistic regression.
Results: External cephalic version was successful in 46.9% of cases (97/207). None of the included variables was associated with the outcome of external cephalic version attempts after adjustment for confounding factors.
Discussion: We present a success rate similar to what has been previously described in literature. However, in contrast to previous authors, we could not associate any of the analysed variables with success of the external cephalic version attempt. We believe this discrepancy is partly related to the type of statistical analysis performed.
Conclusions: Even though there are numerous prognostic factors identified for the success in external cephalic version, care must be taken when counselling and selecting patients for this procedure. The data obtained suggests that external cephalic version should continue being offered to all eligible patients regardless of prognostic factors for success.

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Author Biographies

Carolina Vaz de Macedo, Departamento/Clínica Universitária de Obstetrícia e Ginecologia. Hospital Universitário de Santa Maria. Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Norte. Lisboa. Portugal. Faculdade de Medicina. Universidade de Lisboa. CAM-Centro Académico de Medicina de Lisboa. Lisboa. Portugal.

Médica Interna do Departamento/Clínica Universitária de Obstetrícia e Ginecologia

Nuno Clode, Departamento/Clínica Universitária de Obstetrícia e Ginecologia. Hospital Universitário de Santa Maria. Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Norte. Lisboa. Portugal. Faculdade de Medicina. Universidade de Lisboa. CAM-Centro Académico de Medicina de Lisboa. Lisboa. Portugal.

Chefe de Serviço de Obstetrícia do Departamento/Clínica Universitária de Obstetrícia e Ginecologia

Luís Mendes da Graça, Departamento/Clínica Universitária de Obstetrícia e Ginecologia. Hospital Universitário de Santa Maria. Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Norte. Lisboa. Portugal. Faculdade de Medicina. Universidade de Lisboa. CAM-Centro Académico de Medicina de Lisboa. Lisboa. Portugal.

Director de Serviço do Departamento/Clínica Universitária de Obstetrícia e Ginecologia

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Published

2015-08-21

How to Cite

1.
Vaz de Macedo C, Clode N, Mendes da Graça L. Prediction of Success in External Cephalic Version under Tocolysis: Still a Challenge. Acta Med Port [Internet]. 2015 Aug. 21 [cited 2024 Mar. 28];28(5):554-8. Available from: https://actamedicaportuguesa.com/revista/index.php/amp/article/view/6179