Abstract

PIP: The prognosis of early threatened abortion by combined ultrasonic A and B-scan was evaluated in 20 patients, 5-14 weeks pregnant. Estradiol-17 beta and progesterone serum samples were obtained on the same day the B-scan was performed. A follow-up B-scan was performed 1 week later if the initial diagnosis was inconclusive. An A-scan was performed in pregnancies of 8 weeks or more to detect fetal heart activity. B-scan examination showed 11 cases of normal pregnancy and 8 cases of pathological pregnancy. Continued B-scan diagnosis was inconclusive in 1 patient. Except for 1 patient, the B-scan prognoses was confirmed by later development. Fetal heart activity was detected in each normal pregnancy of 12 weeks of more. False negative A-scan results occurred in 3 of 8 pregnancies, though false positive results did not occur. In normally continuing pregnancies, serum estradiol-17 beta and progesterone values were higher than those normally found during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. Ultrasonic prognosis in cases which eventually aborted were confirmed by hormone levels lower than those in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle.