ABSTRACT
Early pregnancy failure is defined as a pregnancy that ends spontaneously before the embryo has reached a viable gestational age detectable by ultrasound. The most common pathologic symptom of early pregnancy failure is vaginal bleeding. When vaginal bleeding occurs, any clinician should ask several questions that can radically alter the management: Is the patient pregnant? Is the embryo viable or not? What is the gestational age? Is there any evidence to suggest that the pregnancy is ectopic? If a miscarriage occurs, is it complete or incomplete? Is there any associated pelvic mass? Accurate estimation of the embryo/fetus status make it possible to apply appropriate therapeutic measures to cases where a normal outcome of the pregnancy can be expected. At present, sonography is considered to be the best diagnostic method for detection of early pregnancy complications. For these patients, the skill of the sonographer is very important, since accurate diagnosis of pregnancy failure will often result in surgical intervention.
