BACKGROUND:

Umbilical artery thrombosis is a rare complication during pregnancy, with incidence ranging from 0.0025 to 0.045%. The diagnosis is established after an autopsy finding or histopathologic study of the placenta and umbilical cord.

OBJECTIVE:

To analyze perinatal outcomes in two patients with umbilical artery thrombosis.

CASE REPORT:

Case 1. 22-year-old patient, 38 weeks pregnant, with no comorbidities. At the end of pregnancy, umbilical artery thrombosis was noticed and confirmed by histopathology. No adverse maternal or fetal outcomes were documented in the perinatal period. Case 2. 23-year-old patient, 37.0 weeks pregnant, diagnosed with intrahepatic cholestasis and long-standing premature rupture of membranes (26 hours). After vaginal termination of pregnancy, umbilical artery thrombosis was observed and corroborated in the histopathological study. The neonate had early sepsis and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy that warranted his transfer to the intensive care unit until his discharge due to improvement at 18 days of extrauterine life.

CONCLUSIONS:

The diagnosis and treatment of patients with umbilical artery thrombosis is a challenge for the obstetrician because of the complexity of its diagnosis before birth and associated maternal or fetal conditions.