We showed the utility of first trimester ultrasonography before 11 weeks of gestation for antenatal followup. We retrospectively analyzed 1295 records of patients who underwent first trimester ultrasonography (transvaginal/abdominal) in our antenatal clinic in Ankara, Turkey. Maternal age, parity, gestational age, and maternal gestational history were compared with ultrasonographic findings. Patients were divided into 12 groups based on ultrasonographic diagnoses in the first ultrasonographic scan, and called for a control examination within 10 days if the diagnostic findings were abnormal. The data were statistically analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis and chi-square tests. We noted 81.3% patients to have single, viable, intrauterine pregnancies, while 18.7% had abnormal or complicated pregnancies with uterine anomalies, ovarian cysts, fibroids, or subchorionic hematomas. Normal and anembryonic pregnancies had significantly lower median diagnostic period in the control ultrasonography than in the first examination. First trimester ultrasonography before 11 weeks of gestation is valuable in determining pregnancy outcomes.

Objective Placental growth factor (PlGF) is an angiogenetic factor and inducts the development of preeclampsia in a hypoxic environment. In this study, we examined maternal blood PlGF levels in a pregnant population between 16 and 19 weeks of gestation for determining the prospective value for early diagnosis of preeclampsia as a screening test. Materials and Methods In this prospective cross-sectional study, 114 nulliparous normotensive pregnant women were selected for the control group and 34 patients who have chronic hypertension or had a medical history of hypertensive disorders in previous pregnancies were selected for the study group. Results In the study group, the risk of preeclampsia increased 3.2 times when compared with the control with a confidence interval of 95 %. The cut-off value for PlGF for discriminating preeclamptic and non-preeclamptic patients was found to be 62.5 pg/ml. Conclusion Patients with a medical history of hypertensive disorders and low PIGF levels in early second trimester have an increased risk for preeclampsia.