PLACENTAL LOCALIZATION: A COMPARISON OF RADIOPHARMACEUTIC AND THERMOGRAPHIC METHODS

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Abstract
Forty-four patients in whom the placental site was later verified were studied during the last half of gestation by 2 diagnostic techniques[long dash]radiopharmaceutic placentography and infrared thermal placentography. The accuracy of vertical placental localization by the thermal method was 50%; incorrect localization occurred in 16% and nonlocalization in 34%. Ninety-eight per cent of the radiopharmaceutic localizations were accurate. Of 5 cases of placenta previa, 1 was correctly identified thermographically. On the basis of this investigation it is concluded that, despite its advantages, thermoplacentography is less accurate than radiopharmaceutic placental localization. The high incidence of nonlocalization of the placenta and the false negative results in the presence of placenta previa limit the value of thermoplacentography as a diagnostic method.

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