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Relationship between β‐hCG levels in cervicovaginal secretions and labor
Author(s) -
Ziaei S.,
Bahadori A.,
Faghihzadeh S.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
international journal of gynecology and obstetrics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.895
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1879-3479
pISSN - 0020-7292
DOI - 10.1016/j.ijgo.2005.03.029
Subject(s) - medicine , human chorionic gonadotropin , gynecology , radioimmunoassay , oxytocin , obstetrics , hormone , prospective cohort study
Objective : To determine whether levels of human β‐chorionic gonadotropin hormone (β‐hCG) in cervicovaginal secretions can predict the labor process. Methods : A total of 150 women admitted in active labor to the urgent delivery unit of a university hospital were enrolled in a prospective study. The β‐hCG level of each woman's cervicovaginal secretions was measured by radioimmunoassay on admission; then, β‐hCG levels were compared between 2 groups of 35 women, one in whom labor progressed normally and another in whom augmentation of labor with oxytocin was required. Results : There were significant differences in β‐hCG levels of cervicovaginal secretions between the spontaneous delivery group and the augmentation of labor group (130.72 ± 64.51 mU/mL vs. 93.9 ± 65.29 mU/mL) ( P < 0.05). A receiver‐operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed that the optimal cut‐off value was 82 mU/mL, with a sensitivity of 66% and a specificity of 60%. Conclusion : β‐chorionic gonadotropin hormone levels were significantly higher in the cervicovaginal secretions of women whose labor was progressing normally than in those who required augmentation of labor.