Estradiol, estriol and human placental lactogen in serum in threatened abortion

In 64 pregnant women admitted to hospital because of threatened abortion the prognostic value of estradiol-17-beta, estriol and human placental lactogen (HPL) in serum was examined. The hormones were determined by radioimmunoassay. Blood samples were taken at regular intervals during admission to hospital and subsequently until delivery. For each hormone a reference range was based on the hormone values obtained from the pregnancies that continued to viability. The study shows that the three hormones examined gave a good indication of the prognosis in threatened abortion, both separately and in combination. The best predictive values were achieved with estradiol and HPL after serial samples. Of these two hormones estradiol is to be preferred because of its fetoplacental origin.