title: Prediction of early pregnancy outcomes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  A prospective study was performed on the conception hormones of early pregnancy in order to examine their sensitivity and predictability for early pregnancy loss.
  
  
  METHODS
  The serum levels of progesterone, estradiol and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) were measured and analyzed at 5-8 weeks of gestation in pregnancies occurring both with and without ovarian stimulation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  If a level of < 10 ng/ml of progesterone was chosen as the cut-off value for the prediction of early pregnancy loss, the sensitivity and specificity were 56% and 98%, respectively. The optimal cut-off value was chosen at < 0.5 multiples of the median (MoM) and < 0.4 MoM for estradiol and hCG, respectively. This gave a sensitivity of 80% for estradiol and 85% for hCG, and a specificity of 93% for estradiol and 81% for hCG at week 8 of gestation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The combined determination of conception hormones is an efficacious method of monitoring early pregnancy and may be used for predicting outcome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Y S
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin / Q000097:blood*; D004958:Estradiol / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D011374:Progesterone / Q000097:blood*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin; D011374:Progesterone; D004958:Estradiol