Bleeding in early pregnancy

Published on 09/03/2015 by admin

Filed under Obstetrics & Gynecology

Last modified 22/04/2025

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10 Bleeding in early pregnancy

Vaginal bleeding in the first trimester is a common event, occurring in up to 30% of all pregnancies, and about one-half of these will eventually miscarry by 12 weeks’ gestation. More than 90% of spontaneous miscarriage occurs in the first trimester.

Causes of bleeding in the first trimester include spontaneous abortion, physiological bleeding of a normal pregnancy, ectopic pregnancy, trophoblastic disease and non-obstetrical causes such as cervical lesions, e.g. polyps, ectropion or carcinoma.

Miscarriage

Pathophysiology

Up to 50% of spontaneous miscarriages are the result of a major genetic abnormality, e.g. trisomy. The remainder have been linked to other factors such as uterine abnormalities (such as fibroids or müllerian duct abnormalities), cervical incompetence (usually mid-trimester loss), maternal systemic disease, progesterone deficiency in the luteal phase of the cycle and immunological factors.

Once the woman has a positive pregnancy test and the pregnancy fails, there is usually a cessation of the symptoms of pregnancy and the serum human chorionic gonadotrophin beta-subunit (βhCG) levels plateau or fall. Eventually, she will begin to bleed and after hours or weeks of bleeding in varying amounts she will experience lower abdominal cramping or back pain. At this point the eventual outcome is recognized even if the pregnancy failed weeks previously. The final event in this sequence is the passage of POC as the body attempts to evacuate the contents of the uterus, and this is often associated with severe pain, bleeding and often symptoms and signs of shock if products remain in the cervix.

This sequence of events is often mimicked by ectopic pregnancy and, therefore, this must always be excluded. Both entities have positive pregnancy tests, variable symptoms of pregnancy, vaginal bleeding and pelvic pain. However, a ruptured ectopic pregnancy will produce signs of shock and signs of a haemoperitoneum, such as rebound tenderness, rigid abdomen or shoulder-tip pain (caused by diaphragmatic irritation).

Management

The management of bleeding in early pregnancy will depend on clinical, ultrasound and biochemical factors.

Ultrasound assessment

The patient undergoes an ultrasound scan, usually transvaginally. There are several likely outcomes, outlined below with the appropriate management.

If the pregnancy is intrauterine and continues to be viable, reassure the patient and arrange either a booking or follow-up antenatal appointment within 2 weeks.

If viability is uncertain, usually because the pregnancy may be too early for proper assessment, a rescan should be booked in 1–2 weeks’ time.

In a case where there are no retained products, the patient needs to be reviewed and the certainty of the previous diagnosis of pregnancy re-evaluated. If an intrauterine pregnancy has not previously been confirmed, then serial hCG monitoring is needed to ensure that it is decreasing consistent with a miscarriage.

In a case where there is suspicion of an ectopic pregnancy there should be an empty uterus, possible fluid in the pouch of Douglas and an adnexal mass. A heart beat may be apparent within this adnexal mass.

In incomplete/inevitable miscarriages, the majority of women can be managed conservatively in the first instance and this should be discussed with the patient. Expectant management of miscarriage in selected cases is successful in approximately 80% of women. When there is a missed miscarriage, or significant retained products, complete miscarriage is less likely. If there is any suspicion of molar pregnancy, then the patient is not suitable for expectant management and should be referred for an ERPC so that histology is obtained.

Medical management of miscarriage involves administration of prostaglandins, often preceded by mifepristone, and antiprogestogen. This is suitable for women who choose this option.

All women who miscarry should be warned of the signs and symptoms of pelvic infection so that they can seek treatment promptly.

If the patient opts for conservative management, she should return in 1 week’s time for repeat scan. If there are still retained products on the repeat scan, or it appears on initial assessment that ERPC is likely to be required, the patient can have an elective ERPC arranged.

Therapeutic abortion

Recurrent miscarriage

Aetiology

This will depend on the gestation at which the miscarriage occurs.

First trimester

Polycystic ovaries (PCO) are found more commonly in women with recurrent miscarriage (58%) than the general population (22%), and 56% of women with PCO hypersecrete luteinizing hormone (LH). An association with this raised or hypersecretion of LH and recurrent miscarriage has been implicated, although the mechanism of pregnancy failure is unclear.

Women with a history of recurrent miscarriage tend to lose fetuses that have a normal karyotype. However, a parental chromosome abnormality is found in 3–5% of couples with recurrent miscarriage. It is, therefore, essential that blood karyotyping is performed on both partners in order to identify those couples with a genetic cause for their pregnancy losses. These couples should be referred for genetic counselling in order that they may be given a prognosis for future pregnancies and prenatal diagnosis should be offered in ongoing pregnancies.

Recurrent miscarriage has been shown to be associated with antiphospholipid antibodies – lupus anticoagulant and anticardiolipin antibodies – in up to 15% of women. The primary antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is the association between either recurrent miscarriage and/or thrombosis with antiphospholipid antibodies. Recurrent miscarriage is also thought to be associated with other thrombophilic defects, including deficiencies of antithrombin III and factor XII deficiency, and low levels of the naturally occurring anticoagulants protein C and protein S. Activated protein C resistance, a recently identified thrombophilic defect, is found in 20% of women with a history of second-trimester miscarriage where fetal loss is associated with placental thrombosis. As well as accounting for recurrent first-trimester loss, these abnormalities are associated with second-trimester loss and poor obstetric outcome.

The alloimmune theory, that the genetic dissimilarity between the mother and fetus may give rise to a rejection mechanism causing recurrent miscarriage, has not been proven.

Ectopic pregnancy

Assessment

The diagnosis is often difficult clinically (accuracy of 50%), but should always be considered in a woman of childbearing age with amenorrhoea, abnormal bleeding, abdominal pain or collapse. It is a diagnosis of exclusion in any such women and has been made simpler with advances in early diagnostic techniques, in particular the quantitative measurement of βhCG, transvaginal ultrasonography and dedicated early pregnancy assessment clinics. Assessment includes:

A history of pain, irregular scanty bleeding and amenorrhoea

General examination of vital signs, evidence of acute abdomen, cervical excitation with a bulky uterus and a tender adnexae on vaginal assessment

Checking for the presence of βhCG, which is detected in the urine as early as 14 days postconception or in the serum 5–9 days postconception by sensitive assays. Between 2 and 4 weeks after ovulation serum βhCG levels double approximately every 2 days in a normal intrauterine pregnancy; a lesser increase (<66% over 48 hours) is associated with ectopic pregnancy and spontaneous abortion. In order to increase the sensitivity of quantitative βhCG, a discriminatory zone has been described whereby a titre of 1000–1500 IU/l (international reference preparation) will be associated with the presence of an intrauterine sac on transvaginal ultrasound

Transvaginal ultrasound: positive signs of an intrauterine pregnancy on ultrasound scan include a gestation sac (at approximately 4 weeks’ amenorrhoea), the double decidual sign (at 5 weeks), the yolk sac (5–6 weeks) and, finally, the fetal heartbeat (7 weeks). Ectopic pregnancy should be suspected if there are ultrasonic appearances of an empty uterus, an intrauterine pseudosac, evidence of a tubal swelling or ring sign with a fetal heartbeat, or fluid in the pouch of Douglas. Demonstration of a viable intrauterine pregnancy does not exclude the possibility of heterotopic pregnancy (frequency 1/30 000–40 000 spontaneously to 1–3% after assisted reproduction), i.e. a coexisting ectopic and intrauterine pregnancy.

Management

If an ongoing ectopic is suspected, the patient should be admitted to hospital for further investigation, with blood taken for crossmatching and intravenous access (Fig. 10.3).

Surgical treatment

Laparoscopic treatment of ectopic pregnancy will depend on the patient’s physical condition, the location, size and state of the ectopic pregnancy, the experience of the surgeon, and the availability of equipment. The advantages of the laparoscopic approach have been well documented in terms of shorter hospital stay, quicker return to normal routine, fewer postoperative analgesic requirements, as well as reduced costs. The laparoscopic approach is also superior compared with laparotomy in terms of subsequent rate of intrauterine pregnancy and recurrent ectopic. The operation of choice for ectopic pregnancy is controversial, but clear guidelines are now available from bodies such as the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists:

Gestational trophoblastic disease

This is a general term used to describe hydatidiform mole, invasive mole, placental-site tumour and choriocarcinoma. It occurs when trophoblastic tissue, which is part of the blastocyst and normally invades the endometrium to form the placenta, proliferates abnormally and aggressively. The incidence in the UK is approximately 1 in 2000 pregnancies, compared with 1 in 200 in Asia.

Follow-up

All patients with molar pregnancy should be registered with a centre for trophoblastic disease. These patients require detailed follow-up that will be arranged by these centres. Serum βhCG samples should be obtained at 2-weekly intervals postevacuation until normal levels are reached. Following these, urinary βhCG samples are requested at 4-weekly intervals until 1 year postevacuation, then every 3 months in the second year of follow-up. Further serum samples are only requested if subsequent βhCG becomes abnormal. If the patient’s βhCG values reach normal range within 8 weeks of evacuation, follow-up will be limited to 6 months. Adverse sequelae have not so far been observed in these patients. The majority of patients with partial hydatidiform mole, and patients with lesions suspicious of hydatidiform mole, fall into this short-term follow-up group. It also includes some patients with complete hydatidiform mole. Patients in the 6-month follow-up group may consider starting a new pregnancy at the end of that 6-month period.

Patients who do not have normal βhCG values within 8 weeks of evacuation should have 2-year follow-up. If these women are keen to pursue a further pregnancy it is only advisable after βhCG levels have been normal for 6 months. In this group the risk of choriocarcinoma occurring is 1 in 286.

Further estimations of βhCG 6 and 10 weeks after any future pregnancy are recommended because of the small risk of choriocarcinoma developing in such patients. In some cases the choriocarcinoma arises from the new pregnancy.

Hormonal preparations taken for contraceptive or other purposes between evacuation of a mole and the return to normal βhCG levels appear to increase the risk of choriocarcinoma developing. It is suggested that these be avoided until βhCG has become undetectable in serum.