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Abortion - threatened

• Overview
• Symptoms
• Treatment
• Prevention

Alternative Names:

Threatened miscarriage; Threatened spontaneous abortion

Symptoms:

• Vaginal bleeding during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy (last menstrual period was less than 20 weeks ago)
• Abdominal cramps may or may not accompany vaginal bleeding

Note: With true miscarriage, low back pain or abdominal pain (dull to sharp, constant to intermittent) typically occurs and tissue or clot-like material may pass from the vagina .

Signs and tests:

Pelvic examination reveals a cervix that is neither thinned (effaced) nor open (dilated). Either of these could suggest impending miscarriage.

• A serum HCG may be performed to confirm that a pregnancy exists.
• Beta HCG (quantitative) test may be repeated over a period of days or weeks to confirm either continued pregnancy or fetal death.
• A CBC may be obtained to determine the degree of blood loss.
• A WBC with differential may be obtained to rule out infection.
• A pregnancy ultrasound is used to detect fetal heartbeat.

This disease may also alter the results of the following tests:

• Serum progesterone
• Beta HCG (quantitative)

• Review Date: 8/8/2005
• Reviewed By: Sharon Roseanne Thompson, M.D., M.P.H., Clinical Fellow, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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