Can Early hCG Levels be a Marker for Pregnancy Outcome in ART Cycles?

With advancing technology of assisted reproduction, physicians today have the ability to achieve conception in many couples who would have been totally incapable doing so only a few years ago. The anxiety and the uncertainty of pregnancy outcomes using ART procedures is widely accepted as one of the main psychological stresses the couples. The ability to predict outcome as soon as possible after assisted conception treatment is important for clinic staff and patients. The aim of this observational study is to highlight the importance of hCG values in predicting the outcome of ART cycle and counseling the patients in case of adverse result. The ultimate aim is to improve the take home baby rate and initial hCG value can help us counsel our patients towards the ultimate outcome. Embryo development in early pregnancy follows a preprogrammed-timing schedule and depends mainly on the embryonic age of the healthy, successfully implanted conceptus. The appearance of hCG in maternal serum is used to assess the time of clinically detectable implantation. bhCG has provided the best sensitivity and specificity for detection of normal and pathological pregnancies. After IVF, early pregnancy loss or multiple gestations may be predicted with high sensitivity and specificity by using cut-off values of serum hCG. The median HCG concentration was 116 IU/l in viable pregnancies and 31 IU/l in nonviable pregnancies. The median hCG concentration in twin pregnancies was almost double that in singleton pregnancies (201 IU/l vs 116 IU/l). Thus we can reassure normally pregnant patients as well as filter and manage those with nonviable outcomes more efficiently.