Use of a single random serum progesterone value as a diagnostic aid for ectopic pregnancy

• Published in: Fertility and sterility Vol. 55; no. 3; pp. 497 - 500
• Main Authors: Gelder, Mark S., Boots, Larry R., Benjamin Younger, J.
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Elsevier Inc 01.03.1991; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Diseases of mother, fetus and pregnancy; Female; Gynecology. Andrology. Obstetrics; Humans; Medical sciences; Pregnancy - metabolism; Pregnancy, Ectopic - diagnosis; Pregnancy, Ectopic - metabolism; Pregnancy. Fetus. Placenta; Progesterone - blood; Human; Sensitivity; Pregnancy disorders; Female; Early stage; Hormonal investigation; Ectopic pregnancy; Differential diagnostic
• ISSN: 0015-0282; 1556-5653
• DOI: 10.1016/S0015-0282(16)54174-0

We evaluated the usefulness of serum progesterone (P) determinations in differentiating between ectopic pregnancy (EP), normal intrauterine pregnancy (IUP), and abnormal IUP. Values were obtained from 233 samples from 54 patients with IUP, 100 samples from 26 patients with abnormal IUP, and 125 samples from 46 patients with EP. Although mean values from all three groups were significantly different, we could not detect a single value that readily predicted both the presence and absence of EP. Only 2% of patients with EP (excluding those having undergone ovulation induction) had a P>20ng/mL and only 2% of patients with IUP had a value<10ng/mL. Thirty-one percent of IUP, 23% of abnormal IUP, and 52% of EP had values that fell between 10 and 20ng/mL, which limits the clinical usefulness of this test.