Assessment of the functional activity of the corpus luteum in the prediction of early pregnancy complications

Objective. To identify additional ultrasound criteria for assessing the functional activity of the corpus luteum during pregnancy. Materials and methods. A study group consisted of 59 patients with clinical manifestations of threatened miscarriage; a comparison group included 37 patients with physiological pregnancy. The gestation period was 7-8 weeks. The blood level of progesterone was determined by immunochemiluminescent analysis. In both groups, the functional activity of the corpus luteum was examined with a 2.0-5.0- and 4.0-8.0-MHz convex transvaginal transducer on an Aplio™ 500 ultrasound system (Canon Medical Systems), by using Superb Micro-Vascular Imaging (SM). The findings were processed by descriptive statistics methods. Results. In the pregnant women of the study group, the blood level of progesterone was 1.6 times lower than in those of the comparison group. The low progesterone group showed a statistically significant decrease in the mean corpus luteum diameter, a reduction in blood flow velocity, and an increase in vascular resistance around the periphery of the corpus luteum. SMI indicated low blood flow around the periphery of the corpus luteum. Correlation analysis revealed a direct relationship between progesterone levels and ultrasound parameters (the mean corpus luteum diameter, curves for vascular blood flow in the corpus luteum around its periphery). Conclusion. Assessment of the functional activity of the corpus luteum by comprehensive ultrasound examination can be used as an additional method for diagnosing and predicting early pregnancy complications.

progesterone, corpus luteum, ultrasound diagnosis, Superb Micro-Vascular Imaging (SMI)