Prolonged hospitalization and monitoring may be necessary. It may be possible to
discharge these patients to outpatient management if the fetal status is reassuring they have remained stable for several days.
Abruption suspected on the basis of an incidental finding on ultrasound should be managed on a case by case basis.
Thorough history and physical examination should be conducted for evidenc of trauma, cocaine use, hypertension, preeclampsia, or any other
predisposind factors.
Subsequent management may follow the recommendations above, taking into
consideration the gestational age and the state of maternal and fetal well-being. If ultrasonography suggests an abruption in a term fetus, delivery is reasonable.
At preterm gestations, if fetal status is reassuring, conservative management should be the goal.
45 In a retrospective cohort study of
conservative management of 40 cases of placental abruption on in preterm gestations after 20 weeks gestation, Combs and colleagues 45 were able to delay delivery until term in 33%.
The perinatal mortality rate was 22%, And all cases of perinatal death except one were attributable to extreme prematurity.
Of those who delivered before term, 63% had at least one other risk factor(twins, advanced cervical dilation, rupture of membranes) that predisposed to preterm delivery.
In cases where conservative management is chosen, initial hospitalization for further evaluation and assessment of fetal well-being is reasonable. We recommend serial ultrasonograms to evaluate progresston or regression of the abruption.