Cervical cerclage vs pessary in women with a sonographic short cervix.

Abstract

In the present study we sought to compare the efficacy of cervical pessary to that of cerclage in terms of reducing preterm birth rates among women with a short (<25 mm) and ultra-short (<15 and <10 mm) cervix during the ultrasonographic second trimester assessment. We retrospectively searched the hospital records for singleton pregnancies diagnosed with cervical insufficiency during the second trimester of pregnancy. The McDonald cerclage was used in all women with the use of a 5mm Mersilene tape. Arabin pessary was used uniformly. In all cases 80 mg of vaginal progesterone gel was administered daily, until 37 weeks of gestation. Overall, 294 women were selected for analysis of whom 124 (42.2%) had a McDonald cerclage and 170 (57.8%) had placement of an Arabin pessary. Preterm birth rates <37 weeks were similar in both groups (C: 30/122 vs P: 35:165, p=.581) as well as PTB <34 weeks (C: 16/122 vs 15/150, p=.278). Admission to the NICU and need for CPAP were more prevalent in the cerclage group (p<.001). Analysis of cases with a cervix <15 mm and <10 mm indicated that preterm birth rates remained equal among groups whereas an increased risk of NICU admission in cases with cervical length <10 mm that were treated with cerclage. Cervical pessary may be an alternative to cervical cerclage for women with second trimester cervical shortening and its effect may persist even among cases with an ultra-short cervix. Future randomized trials are needed to ascertain these findings.