POM Study - Version 1

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    Prediction of miscarriage using a combination of biochemical and ultrasound scan markers - A prospective cohort study

  • IRAS ID

    173986

  • Contact name

    Rekha Neelakanta Pillai

  • Contact email

    rnp8@le.ac.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    1 years, 2 months, 5 days

  • Research summary

    Miscarriage is one of the common complications of pregnancy and it affects about one in five women. It can be extremely distressing for the couple and going through it can be a very frightening experience. Furthermore, the uncertainty of not knowing the potential outcome of pregnancy with symptoms of miscarriage can be stressful. It is equally challenging for the healthcare professionals as they cannot provide reasonable information on the potential outcome. Threatened miscarriage is when women present with vaginal bleeding and/or pain and an ultrasound scan confirms presence of baby's heartbeat. In these cases there is still 1-2 in 10 chance of losing the pregnancy despite the presence of a baby's heartbeat. Recurrent miscarriage is when women have experienced three or more miscarriages. In this group there is 4 in 10 chance of losing a subsequent pregnancy.

    Currently there are no accurate tests that can predict ongoing pregnancy in women with threatened or recurrent miscarriage. By determining accurate predictive tests, it would be possible to counsel women reasonably if they are likely to continue with their pregnancy, thereby providing reassurance and be potentially cost effective by reducing their attendance and admission rates in the hospital.
    We aim to assess selected biochemical markers (blood test), ultrasound scan markers (USS) and demographic parameters in predicting the outcome of women with threatened and recurrent miscarriage. The studies done so far in this specific field have not been of good quality and we aim to perform this study taking into account the drawbacks from previous studies.

  • REC name

    East Midlands - Leicester Central Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    15/EM/0439

  • Date of REC Opinion

    30 Oct 2015

  • REC opinion

    Further Information Favourable Opinion