ABSTRACT
Objective To explore the diagnostic values of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and p -human chorionic gonadotropin( β -hCG) for early ectopic pregnancy. Methods The serum levels of VEGF and β-hCG were measured in 109 patients with suspected ectopic pregnancy by ELISA and RIA respectively, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curvers were established, the diagnostic values of VEGF and β -hCG for ectopic pregnancy were analyzed. Results One hundred and nine patients with suspected ectopic pregnancy were diagnosed in the end: 62 cases with ectopic pregnancy and 47 cases with intrauterine pregnancy. The levels of VEGF in ectopic pregnancy were significantly higher than those in intrauterine pregnancy (P ＜ 0.05), but the levels of β -hCG were significantly lower than those in intrauterine pregnancy (P ＜ 0.05). The areas under ROC curves of VEGF were 0.87, the areas under ROC curves of β -hCG were 0.71. In VEGF ＞ 140 ng/L for diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy, the sensitivity and specificity were 75.8% (47/62) and 80.9% (38/47) respectively. In β-hCG ＜ 1200 U/L for diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy, the sensitivity and specificity were 64.5%(40/62) and 61.7%(29/47) respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of combined detection of VEGF and β -hCG were 80.6%(50/62) and 57.4%( 27/47) respectively. Conclusions The diagnostic values of VEGF are better than those of β -hCG. The combined detection of VEGF and β -hCG can increase the rate of early diagnosis and shorten observation time.