International Journal of Clinical Obstetrics and Gynaecology

Background: Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) has emerged as a valuable diagnostic modality in emergency obstetric settings, offering rapid bedside assessment capabilities. However, comparative data regarding its diagnostic accuracy for placental abnormalities against standard radiological evaluation remains limited in Indian healthcare settings.

Objective: This study aimed to compare the diagnostic yield of POCUS with standard radiology for detecting placenta previa and placental abruption in emergency obstetric presentations.

Methods: A retrospective comparative study was conducted at Tertiary care Hospital, Pune, involving 100 pregnant women presenting with antepartum hemorrhage between January 2022 and December 2023. POCUS findings performed by were compared against standard radiological ultrasound conducted by certified radiologists. Diagnostic accuracy parameters including sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) were calculated using surgical/clinical outcomes as the gold standard.

Results: Among 100 patients (mean age: 27.4±4.8 years; mean gestational age: 32.6±5.2 weeks), 38 cases of placenta previa and 24 cases of placental abruption were confirmed. For placenta previa, POCUS demonstrated sensitivity of 89.5% and specificity of 93.5%, compared to 94.7% and 96.8% for standard radiology (p=0.218). For placental abruption, POCUS showed sensitivity of 75.0% and specificity of 94.7%, versus 87.5% and 97.4% for standard radiology (p=0.142). Mean time-to-diagnosis was significantly shorter with POCUS (8.2±2.4 minutes vs. 42.6±15.8 minutes; p<0.001).