A prospective study of the factors associated with the success rate of external cephalic version for breech presentation at term.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the factors associated with the success rate of external cephalic version (ECV) for breech presentation at term.


METHODS
A prospective analysis of 500 ECV maneuvers. The variables maternal age, maternal weight, body mass index, previous cesarean delivery, gestational age, parity, amount of amniotic fluid, placental location, and type of breech were studied using logistic regression analysis.


RESULTS
The success rate of ECV was 52.2% (n=261). The variables significantly associated with success were parity, placental location, amount of amniotic fluid, and type of breech (P<0.05). A parity of 2 had a 3.74-times higher probability of success than nulliparity (95% CI, 2.37-5.90); a posterior placenta increased the success rate by 2.85 times compared with an anterior placenta (95% CI, 1.87-4.36); and double footling breech presentation had a 2.77-times higher success rate compared with a frank breech presentation (95% CI, 1.16-6.62). The area under the ROC curve showed a predictive ability of 73.6% (95% CI, 69.2%-77.9%) for these 3 variables.


CONCLUSIONS
Parity, placental location, amount of amniotic fluid, and type of breech presentation were associated with the success rate of ECV.
Burgos
Jorge
J
Obstetrics and Gynecology Service, Cruces University Hospital, Vizcaya, Spain. jburgoss@sego.es
Melchor
Juan Carlos
JC
Pijoán
José Ignacio
JI
Cobos
Patricia
P
Fernández-Llebrez
Luis
L
Martínez-Astorquiza
Txantón
T
D000328:Adult; D000653:Amniotic Fluid / Q000378:metabolism; D001946:Breech Presentation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D010298:Parity; D010920:Placenta / Q000378:metabolism; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012372:ROC Curve; D014710:Version, Fetal / Q000379:methods*