Assessing the Predictive Value of First Trimester Ultrasound and Biochemical Markers in Miscarriage: A Scoping Review Protocol

Abstract

The objective of this review is to report on first trimester ultrasound (US) and biochemical (BC) markers and miscarriage. The review seeks to examine whether first trimester US markers, used alone or in combination, or in combination with BC markers, may predict miscarriage. To meet this objective, the following research questions have been formulated: 1. Which first trimester US markers, individually or in combination, have already been examined? 2. Which BC markers have been examined in combination with first trimester US markers? 3. What is the predictive value of the identified markers in spontaneous miscarriage? A preliminary search of the area being investigated demonstrated that, since there is a high level of variation among different research publications (owing to diverse combinations of US and BC markers with varying diagnostic accuracy), extracted data is unable to be combined and evaluated. Therefore, it is difficult to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature (Munn et al., 2018)