title: Clinical significance of low levels of second-trimester maternal serum human chorionic gonadotropin.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine if unexplained low second-trimester maternal serum human chorionic gonadotropin (MShCG) is a useful predictor of complications of pregnancy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between 2/1/90 and 1/3/91, 3,116 patients underwent prenatal screening using second-trimester maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (MSAFP), MShCG and maternal serum unconjugated estriol (MSuE3). Among these, there were 160 patients with complete obstetrical history who had second-trimester MShCG < 0.4 multiples of the median (MoM). These were compared to 261 controls with complete obstetrical history and a normal second-trimester MSAFP, MSuE3 and MShCG.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No differences were found in gestational age at delivery, neonatal weight, premature rupture of membranes or pregnancy loss. The relative risk of pregnancy-induced hypertension in the study group was 0.29 (p < 0.01) and that of gestational diabetes was 0.3 (p < 0.05). Only when low MShCG was associated with a high or low MSAFP or low MSuE3 was there a significantly increased loss of pregnancy (relative risk 11.7; p < 0.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The data suggest that second-trimester MShCG < 0.4 MoM by itself has no influence on the outcome of pregnancy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Illinois at Chicago.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Santolaya-Forgas
authors.forename: L I
authors.initials: LI
authors.lastname: Burd
authors.forename: B K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Burton
mesh_terms: D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin / Q000097:blood*; D016640:Diabetes, Gestational / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005313:Fetal Death / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000097:blood; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000097:blood; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D011262:Pregnancy Trimester, Second; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin