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A comparative study of human chorionic gonadotropin, placebo, and bed rest for women with early threatened abortion
1Royal College of Surgeons, Dublin, Ireland.
Objective:
To compare the effect of hCG therapy with placebo or bed rest in women with threatened abortion.
Design:
Random assignment, double-blind.
Setting:
Community hospitals.
Patients And Interventions:
Sixty-one women with viable pregnancies under 8 weeks' gestation on admission to hospital were randomly allocated to receive injections of hCG or placebo, or were advised to rest in bed.
Main Outcome Measures:
Abortion vs. continuation of pregnancy at 16 weeks' gestation.
Results:
Thirty-one aborted: 6/20 on hCG, 10/21 on placebo, 15/20 on bed rest. hCG vs. bed rest, P < .01; placebo vs. bed rest, hCG vs. placebo--not significant. Plasma progesterone: continuing pregnancy > abortion, P < .01; continued with hCG vs. aborted on placebo, P < .001; continued with hCG vs. aborted with bed rest, P < .001. No significant differences in pregnancy/birth complications or infants' birth weight. Female/male ratio was 2:1.
Conclusions:
hCG is significantly better than bed rest.