Measurement of serum progesterone levels may be helpful in deciding which emergency department patients with no strong clinical signs are at low risk
Measurement of serum progesterone levels may be helpful in deciding which emergency department patients with no strong clinical signs are at low risk of ectopic pregnancy, according to a report in the August issue of the Annals of Emergency Medicine.
They measured progesterone levels in 716 first-trimester patients
who presented to an emergency department with abdominal pain or
vaginal bleeding. Patients were monitored until intrauterine or
ectopic pregnancy was confirmed. Follow-up showed that, altogether, 61% were viable intrauterine pregnancies, 32% were nonviable intrauterine pregnancies and 7.3% were ectopic pregnancies. Using a serum progesterone cutoff point of 22ng/mL gave a 100% sensitivity and a 27% specificity for ectopic
pregnancy.
