In the November 2011 issue, Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology published a series of papers that suggest that current guidelines may be inadequate for the diagnosis of early miscarriage using ultrasound. The articles include a systematic review of the evidence available, a pair of papers describing a multicenter evaluation of current guidelines and a reproducibility study that shows significant interobserver variation in early pregnancy measurements of gestational sac diameter and crown–rump length. The research was the subject of a press release in collaboration with our publisher, Wiley, which attracted widespread media attention, particularly in the UK. The papers are all available on the UOG website, and will be free to access until the end of 2011:
Accuracy of first-trimester ultrasound in the diagnosis of early embryonic demise: a systematic review
Y. Jeve, R. Rana, A. Bhide, S. Thangaratinam
Limitations of current definitions of miscarriage using mean gestational sac diameter and crown–rump length measurements: a multicenter observational study
Y. Abdallah, A. Daemen, E. Kirk et al.
Gestational sac and embryonic growth are not useful as criteria to define miscarriage: a multicenter observational study
Y. Abdallah, A. Daemen, S. Guha et al.
Clinical implications of intra- and interobserver reproducibility of transvaginal sonographic measurements of gestational sac and crown–rump length at 6–9 weeks gestation
A. Pexsters, J. Luts, D. Van Schoubroeck et al.
The press release is available here.
Following the publication of the papers in Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology, the RCOG produced an addendum to Greentop Guideline No. 25 (2006) 'The Management of Early Pregnancy Loss'. To view the addendum, please click here.