Cesarean Scar Pregnancy Managed with Conservative Treatment

Abstract

Cesarean scar pregnancy (CSP) is a rare, but life-threatening type of ectopic pregnancy. An exact and early diagnosis of CSP is very important for prognosis. The aim of the present study was to describe 4 women with CSP and discuss their clinical presentations, diagnoses, and various management options along with the published literature. Four women with a suspicion of CSP or cervical pregnancy were referred to our hospital between August 2013 and January 2014. All the patients were counseled about medical management options. After the treatment, serum beta human chorionic gonadotropin (ß-hCG) levels were followed weekly until they reached <5 mIU/mL. All the patients were diagnosed at the first trimester, with the average gestational age of 6.4±0.9 weeks. Treatment was systemic methotrexate (MTX) treatment in 3 of the 4 women, requiring no further intervention. The remaining 1 woman was treated with an intragestational administration of MTX. The mean time passed until ß-hCG reached <5 mIU/mL was 10.2±2.9 (range, 8–14) weeks, and the mean time passed until the gestational sac resolved was 21.5±3.5 (range, 18–25) weeks. Based on this limited number of case-series experience, it seems that CSP should be treated conservatively even if there are visible fetal cardiac activity, fetal poles, large gestational sacs, and high initial ß-hCG levels. Although the complete remission of the lesion takes a relatively long time, medical management via a noninvasive approach and follow-up should be tried as the first choice of therapy.

Keywords

• Cesarean scar pregnancy
• Ectopic pregnancy
• Methotrexate
• Treatment