Doctors should 'wait longer' before diagnosing miscarriage

ConclusionThis observational study reviewed the reliability of different measurements taken at a transvaginal ultrasound scan to diagnose miscarriage during early pregnancy. The recommended cut-off values for gestational sac diameter and embryo crown-to-rump length were changed in 2011 based on a number of reports, with mixed findings suggesting previous ones may have been unreliable. This study looked at the performance of currently used cut-off values, and found that the current cut-offs used to diagnose miscarriage are reliable. No healthy, continuing pregnancies would be wrongly diagnosed as miscarriage using these values.However, a finding of note was that if a repeat scan is needed to confirm miscarriage, there are some issues around timing. If there is a gestational sac only, with no embryo present, reliable diagnosis can be harder, and researchers say there should be a wait of two weeks rather than one before carrying out a repeat scan. This reduces the chance of incorrect diagnosis from 2% to 0%. If an embryo is identified at the first scan, then interpretation of miscarriage is more straightforward and timing between scans is less of an issue. This study has a number of strengths, namely a prospective design and large sample size, with measurements taken by experienced professionals, thereby increasing the certainty of the findings. However, there was no available data for 337 women and this may have influenced results. Miscarriages are common, can happen for many ...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Medical practice Pregnancy/child Source Type: news