PURPOSE To compare the serum ferritin concentrations of normal pregnant women with those having gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and to determine the possible role of ferritin in predicting pregnancy outcome and early development of postpartum glucose intolerance and diabetes mellitus. METHOD This case-control study consisted of 128 pregnant women (64 women with GDM and 64 age-matched heal...

BACKGROUND The diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy in women presenting in early pregnancy is often protracted, relying on costly investigations that are psychologically burdensome to the patient. The aim of this study was to evaluate the financial costs to the health services in Scotland of the current methods used to diagnose and exclude ectopic pregnancy, and compare these with that of a theoretic...

BACKGROUND Home pregnancy testing devices claim >99% diagnostic accuracy for pregnancy and utility on the first day of the missed menses or earlier. We investigated the forms of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in early pregnancy urines, the diagnostic accuracy claim, and the abilities of 15 devices to detect the different forms of hCG. METHODS We measured the concentrations of regular hCG ...