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Fetal loss in threatened abortion after embryonic/fetal heart activity
Y Tannirandorn1, S Sangsawang, S Manotaya
1Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. ytannirandorn@hotmail.com
Objectives:
To study the incidence of fetal loss in threatened abortion after detection of embryonic/fetal heart activity.
Methods:
A prospective study was performed on pregnant women with clinically diagnosed threatened abortion between 6 and 14 weeks of gestation. All had a good menstrual history and the calculated gestational age using crown-rump length in the first trimester ultrasound was in agreement. Embryonic/fetal heart rate measurements were obtained by a 5 MHz vaginal probe using M-mode and real-time B mode imaging. All cases were followed up with respect to pregnancy outcomes. The data were analyzed using the SPSS computer program.
Results:
Eighty-seven pregnant women were included in the study. There were three pregnancies (3.4%) which resulted in fetal loss before 20 weeks of gestation. In viable pregnancies, the mean embryonic/fetal heart rate increased with advancing gestational age. The individual values of embryonic/fetal heart rate for fetal losses were within the reference range.
Conclusions:
The incidence of fetal loss in threatened abortion after detection of embryonic/fetal heart activity was 3.4%. There was no evident pattern of bradycardia or tachycardia that signaled the incipient of viability.