A case report of an abnormal trend in hCG levels in a pregnancy complicated by ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome

Ariel Benor; Richard Grazi; David Kulak

doi:10.1016/j.crwh.2019.e00096

A case report of an abnormal trend in hCG levels in a pregnancy complicated by ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome

Case Rep Womens Health. 2019 Jan 23:21:e00096. doi: 10.1016/j.crwh.2019.e00096. eCollection 2019 Jan.

Authors

Ariel Benor¹, Richard Grazi¹, David Kulak¹

Affiliation

¹ Genesis Fertility, Division of Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility at Maimonides Medical Center, 6010 Bay Pkwy., Brooklyn, New York, USA.

Abstract

Objective: To present a case of abnormally trending hCG levels due to ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) and to portray the obscurities of this commonly used method for tracking early pregnancies.

Design: Case report.

Setting: Outpatient ART facility.

Patient: A patient who received controlled ovarian hyperstimulation in an ART cycle.

Intervention: Supportive care.

Main outcome measure: hCG level.

Result: The hCG levels in this patient with OHSS trended in an abnormal fashion, suggesting a failing or ectopic pregnancy, but the patient had a normal intrauterine fetus.

Conclusion: hCG levels may be falsely low in pregnancies complicated by OHSS.

Keywords: Abnormal trend; Early pregnancy; OHSS; hCG.

Publication types

Case Reports