Hydatidiform Mole Presents As Pregnancy in a 48-Year-Old Perimenopausal Female: A Case Study

Abstract

Pregnancy should be suspected whenever a woman in her childbearing years misses a menstrual period. Clinical suspicion is increased if she also reports any sexual activity while not using contraception or is inconsistent in her use of contraception. Laboratory findings that aid in the diagnosis of pregnancy include the detection of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in blood or urine. Hydatidiform mole (HM) is part of a group of diseases classified under gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD), which originate in the placenta and have the potential to locally invade the uterus and metastasize. Although molar pregnancies are designated as benign, they have the potential to develop into a malignancy. In this case study, we present a 48-year-old peri-menopausal female patient, with a 1+ year history of irregular menses, who presented to the clinic with signs and symptoms of pregnancy, unprotected sexual activity, and a positive at-home pregnancy test. Upon further workup of the patient, it was diagnosed that the patient had a hydatidiform molar pregnancy. It is interesting to note that benign gestational trophoblastic diseases generally occur in younger women, of "reproductive age" (generally in their twenties to early thirties), and is extremely rare in peri- and post-menopausal women.