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  • Title: Unexplained elevated maternal serum beta-HCG concentration and adverse pregnancy outcome.
    Author: Ganapathy R, Lamont RF, Bassett P.
    Journal: Prenat Diagn; 2007 Nov; 27(11):995-9. PubMed ID: 17621365.
    Abstract:
    OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between unexplained elevated maternal serum beta-Human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) in the second trimester of pregnancy and adverse pregnancy outcome. METHODS: In a case-controlled study of 3463 women who opted for second-trimester serum screening for Down syndrome, 142 were found to have a serum beta-HCG of > or =3.5 multiples of the median (MoM), 56 of whom had a serum beta-HCG of > or =5.0 MoM. These women were compared with a control group of women with serum beta-HCG within the 95% confidence interval around the median. RESULTS: In the elevated beta-HCG group (> or =5 MoM) significantly more babies required admission to the special care baby unit (p = 0.02) and were small for gestational age (SGA) (p = 0.03). The mean birth weight was also significantly lower in the group with elevated beta-HCG. Women with a serum beta-HCG of > or =5, > or =6, > or =7 or > or =8 MoM were associated with SGA babies in 40, 44, 64 and 86% respectively. All babies born to the six women with beta-HCG of 8.75-24.1 MoM were SGA. CONCLUSION: Increased surveillance is necessary in pregnancies where the maternal serum beta-HCG in the second trimester is inexplicably elevated to > or =5 MoM.
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