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Published on: October 10, 2025
Beta-human chorionic gonadotropin in cervicovaginal secretions and preterm delivery
A Garshasbi1, T Ghazanfari, S Faghih Zadeh
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Shahed University, Faculty of Medicine, Tehran, Iran.
Objectives:
To determine whether concentrations of beta-HCG in cervicovaginal secretions could predict spontaneous preterm birth (SPB) in asymptomatic high risk pregnancies.
Methods:
A cohort study was undertaken with cervicovaginal samples collected from 540 pregnant women between 20 to 28 weeks of gestation. Levels of beta-HCG were measured by ELISA test.
Results:
There was 3.2-fold increase in cervicovaginal beta-HCG concentrations among patients with SPB vs. term delivery. A single cervicovaginal beta-HCG > 77.8 mIU/ml, between 20 and 28 weeks' gestation, identified patients with subsequent SPB vs. term delivery with sensitivity of 87.5% (95% CI: 47.4-97.9) and a specificity of 97% (95% CI: 86.5-99.4) with positive and negative predictive values of 88.5% and 98%, respectively. Multiple logistic regression indicates that cervicovaginal beta-HCG level > 77.8 mIU/ml was an independent predictor of SPB (adjusted odds ratio 19.97, 95% CI: 10.65-37.45).
Conclusions:
Cervicovaginal beta-HCG is a sensitive and specific predictor of patients with subsequent preterm delivery.
