title: Pregnancy-associated plasma protein A in the prediction of early pregnancy failure.
abstract: Maternal circulating pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A) was measured in 51 patients with vaginal bleeding in the first half of pregnancy. Concentrations of PAPP-A were consistently lower in pregnancies which failed. In the prediction of early pregnancy failure, the predictive value of depressed maternal PAPP-A levels was 58%, the sensitivity was 91.9%, and specificity was 95.1%. These results compared favorably with other biochemical tests of placental function. However, if fetal life was demonstrated ultrasonically, depressed levels of PAPP-A substantially differentiated between those pregnancies which continued normally and those which did not, suggesting that PAPP-A estimations would be of clinical value in cases previously beyond the reach of any diagnostic measure.
mesh_terms: D000033:Abortion, Threatened / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis; D005260:Female; D005317:Fetal Growth Retardation / Q000503:physiopathology; D005318:Fetal Heart; D005333:Fetus / Q000502:physiology; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011257:Pregnancy Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D011266:Pregnancy-Associated Plasma Protein-A / Q000032:analysis*; D011336:Probability; D011379:Prognosis; D014463:Ultrasonography; D014592:Uterine Hemorrhage / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D011257:Pregnancy Proteins; D011266:Pregnancy-Associated Plasma Protein-A