Traumatic abruptio placenta scale

Last revised by Jeremy Jones on 20 Sep 2021

The traumatic abruptio placenta scale (TAPS) was devised to stratify placental injury findings on CT. Since placental abruption is a concern in a pregnant patient who has undergone traumatic injury, CT is occasionally the first imaging modality used to evaluate the placenta.

  • 0: normal homogeneously enhancing placenta
  • 1: heterogeneous placenta with low-attenuation geographic areas due to normal variants
  • 2: non-geographic contiguous or full-thickness areas of low attenuation with acute angles with myometrium
    • 2a: >50% placental enhancement
    • 2b: 25-50% placental enhancement
  • 3: large perfusion defects with <25% overall residual placental enhancement

The numerical score is less important than recognizing the findings of more severe and less severe placental injury.

The scale requires assessment with IV contrast-enhanced CT, however, if the study is performed without contrast, retroplacental hemorrhage can still be evaluated since it will be hyperattenuating relative to the myometrium and normal placenta.

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