can chronic placental inflammation be the explanation?
OBJECTIVE: This study tests the hypothesis that chronic inflammatory foci in the placentas of siblings that undergo multifetal pregnancy reduction are associated with shortened gestational length. METHODS: Among 446 patients who underwent multifetal pregnancy reduction (MPR), 56 delivered at Mount Sinai Hospital, 37 (66%) had their placentas referred to surgical pathology and 29 (78%) of the 37 patients had tissue sampled from the placenta of the reduced sibling. Slides were reviewed (by C.M.S.) blinded to clinical data. Lesions were diagnosed using previously published criteria. Specifically, inflammatory lesions were correlated with the various perinatal parameters. Non-parametric testing considered p < 0.05 to be significant. RESULTS: Ten (35%) of 29 patients had chronic inflammation in the reduced placenta. Their gestational age at delivery was 33.1 +/- 3.2 weeks, compared to 35.8 +/- 2.3 weeks in those without chronic inflammation (Z = -2.53, p = 0.01). There was no difference bet
