[Does the risk of complications after amniocentesis depend on the indications for intervention? An evaluation of 2,066 punctures].

Data from 2066 amniocenteses were analysed retrospectively to test the hypothesis whether the indications for amniocentesis influence the risk of post-procedural complications. Compared to the reference group of 35-39 year-old gravidae, the complication rates were similar in women with a previous child with chromosomal abnormality, in cases with maternal disease, abnormal biochemical markers, maternal anxiety, and translocation carriers. If the maternal age was 40 years and over, only the percentage of pregnancy terminations for fetal abnormalities was higher than in the reference group; high parental age was associated with a significantly decreased fetal loss rate. In the group of amniocenteses performed for sonographic evidence of fetal malformation, the highest total complication rates and the highest fetal loss rates were observed.