Clinical value of serum homocysteine, folate, and ultrasonography detection of yolk sac in predicting the outcome of threatened abortion

Background: To investigate the clinical value of serum homocysteine (Hcy), folate, and ultrasonography detection of yolk sac in predicting the outcome of threatened abortion.Methods: Ninety-eight pregnant women within 12 weeks of gestation were included in the study. Of these subjects, 29 presented with threatened abortion and were considered the case group (n=29). The other 69 subjects showed as a normal pregnancy were the control group (n=69). The case group was followed up with at 28 weeks of gestation, and further divided into inevitable abortion group (IA, n=9) and successful fetus protection group (SFP, n=20). The yolk sacs of the included cases were measured by ultrasonography. The serum Hcy and folate levels of the included cases were measured by an enzyme cycling assay and chemiluminescent immunoassay, respectively. The yolk sac visualization rate and serum Hcy and folate levels were compared between the two case groups and used as a predicting reference for the outcome of threatened abortion. Results: The yolk sac visualization rates detected by ultrasonography were 97.1% (67/69) for the control group and 69.0% (20/29) for the threatened abortion group, with a statistical difference (p