MEDICAL VERSUS SURGICAL TREATMENT OF ECTOPIC PREGNANCY

Abstract

Ectopic pregnancy is defined as the pregnancy that implants outside the endometrial cavity and is considered a medical emergency. The objective of the study was to evaluate and compare the results obtained in patients diagnosed with ectopic pregnancy treated with medication versus those treated surgically and to analyze the most effective treatment method by comparing the results obtained. Material and methods. We conducted a retrospective study on a group of 70 patients diagnosed with ectopic pregnancy at the Ilfov County Clinical Hospital in Bucharest, Romania, over a period of four years. We analyzed each patient, clinically hemodynamic stable or unstable, the percentage of healed patients and those who were pregnant after medical and surgical treatment. Results. From the total of 70 patients, 83% of them were hemodynamically stable, 17% were hemodynamically unstable. Most 87% of the patients were treated with methotrexate and the remaining 12% required surgery. Patients treated with methotrexate were completely healed, and 60% of them got pregnant in the same uterine tube where the ectopic pregnancy occurred. Conclusions. Clinical trials have demonstrated a 95% to 100% rate of ectopic pregnancy resolution through medical therapy. The goal is to avoid anesthesia and surgery, because surgical therapy is an invasive method by which the woman can become infertile, so it is reserved for hemodynamically stable patients. In conclusion, through medical treatment, patients maintains their fertility and may got pregnant in the same tube where the ectopic pregnancy occurred.

Keywords

• ectopic pregnancy
• hemodynamically stable
• fertility
• methotrexate