Table 1.
Maternal demographic, cerclage and other pregnancy characteristics compared by cerclage suture type
| Thicker suture (Mersilene tape) n=120 | Thinner suture (Ethibond/Prolene) n=83 | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maternal demographic characteristics | |||
| Maternal age (years) | 31.7 +/− 5.2 | 32.3 +/− 5.1 | 0.49 |
| Maternal race | 0.07 | ||
| Non-Hispanic Black | 48 (45.3) | 39 (58.2) | |
| Non-Hispanic White | 40 (37.7) | 14 (20.9) | |
| Hispanic | 15 (14.2) | 9 (13.4) | |
| Other | 3 (2.8) | 5 (7.5) | |
| Pre-pregnancy maternal body mass index (kg/m2) | 27.9 (23.6, 35.3) | 27.5 (24.0, 35.0) | 0.89 |
| Gestational age of earliest prior PTB (weeks)* | 21.4 +/− 4.1 | 21.4 +/− 4.0 | 0.97 |
| Cerclage in one or more previous pregnancies* | 50 (53.8) | 26 (44.1) | 0.24 |
| Cerclage characteristics | |||
| Cerclage indication | 0.01 | ||
| History-indicated | 85 (70.8) | 45 (54.2) | |
| Ultrasound-indicated | 21 (17.5) | 14 (16.9) | |
| Exam-indicated | 14 (11.7) | 24 (28.9) | |
| Gestational age at cerclage placement (weeks) | 14.3 (13.1, 17.7) | 15.9 (13.6, 20.5) | 0.01 |
| Cervical length in mm at cerclage (for ultrasound-indicated cerclage) | 16.0 (14.0, 19.0) | 11.5 (9.0, 16.0) | 0.11 |
| Cervical dilation in cm at cerclage (for exam-indicated cerclage) | 1 (1, 1) | 1.5 (1, 3) | 0.14 |
| Surgical approach to cerclage placement | <0.001 | ||
| McDonald | 66 (55.0) | 81 (97.6) | |
| Shirodkar or modified Shirodkar | 46 (38.3) | 2 (2.4) | |
| Cervicoisthmic | 8 (6.7) | 0 | |
| Resident involved in cerclage placement | 85 (73.9) | 58 (73.4) | 0.94 |
| Maternal-Fetal Medicine fellow involved in cerclage placement | 37 (32.2) | 21 (26.6) | 0.40 |
| Generalist obstetrician as attending provider | 5 (6.3) | 2 (1.7) | 0.10 |
| Attending surgeon number of years of experience | 19.2 +/− 8.4 | 13.2 +/− 8.2 | <0.001 |
| Other pregnancy characteristics | |||
| Progesterone use during pregnancy | 108 (90.0) | 65 (78.3) | 0.02 |
| Vaginal progesterone | 33 (29.2) | 32 (39.5) | |
| Intramuscular 17-alpha hydroxyprogesterone caproate | 87 (72.5) | 50 (61.0) | |
| Gestational or pregestational diabetes | 24 (20.0) | 16 (19.3) | 0.90 |
| Chronic hypertension | 17 (14.2) | 15 (18.1) | 0.45 |
| Gestational hypertension or preeclampsia | 8 (6.7) | 3 (3.6) | 0.35 |
| Asthma | 11 (9.2) | 10 (12.1) | 0.52 |
| Loop electrosurgical excision procedure or cold knife cone | 16 (13.6) | 9 (11.0) | 0.59 |
| Gonorrhea or chlamydia at initial prenatal visit | 3 (2.5) | 0 | 0.15 |
| Illicit drug use during pregnancy | 4 (3.4) | 3 (3.6) | 0.92 |
*
Among multiparous women
Data are presented as n (%), mean +/− standard deviation, and median (interquartile range)