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Human chorionic gonadotropin levels between 16 and 21 weeks of pregnancy and prediction of pre‐eclampsia
Author(s) -
RoizHernández J.,
CabelloMartínez J. de J.,
FernándezMejía M.
Publication year - 2006
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.2005.10.002
Subject(s) - medicine , cutoff , obstetrics , eclampsia , human chorionic gonadotropin , pregnancy , receiver operating characteristic , third trimester , predictive value , gynecology , area under the curve , gestation , endocrinology , hormone , biology , physics , quantum mechanics , genetics
Objective. To determine whether levels of beta human choriogonadotropin (β‐hCG) during the second trimester are a predictor of pre‐eclampsia. Methods. A prospective study of 784 women was conducted between their 16th and 20th week of pregnancy. Primigravidas and multigravidas were analyzed separately, and the cutoff point was determined using a receiver operating characteristic curve. The accuracy of β‐hCG levels in the prediction of pre‐eclampsia was evaluated. The likelihood ratios were calculated for different levels of β‐hCG in both groups. Results. Pre‐eclampsia prevalence was 7.1% among primigravidas and 4.6% among multigravidas. The cutoff concentration was 2.0 MoM in both groups. For primigravidas and multigravidas, respectively, the area below the curve was 0.96 and 0.95; sensitivity was 88.5% and 100%; specificity was 92.0% and 85.6%; positive predictive value was 0.46 and 0.25; and negative predictive value was 0.99 and 1.0. With a cutoff concentration of 2.0 MoM of β‐hCG, the positive likelihood ratio was 11.1 in primigravidas and 6.9 in multigravidas. Conclusion. This study shows that measuring levels of β‐hCG during the second trimester of pregnancy is useful in clinical practice to identify pregnant women who will develop pre‐eclampsia.