Single Dose Methotrexate in Treatment of Ectopic Pregnancy: Review of 32 Case

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of single dose intramuscular methotrexate in the treatment of ectopic pregnancy.Material and Methods: 32 patients who matched the inclusion criteria were enrolled. Success of treatment was defined as a resolution of ectopic pregnancy without performing surgical intervention. The cases in whom the treatment was successful and those that were not were compared for β-hCG values and clinical features.Results: β-hCG at diagnosis averaged 1293.9 mIU/ml. Of the 32 patients who received methotrexate, 26 were successfully treated. 23 patients (71.8%) received a single dose of methotrexate, 3 patients (9.3%) received an additional dose of methotrexate, 6 patients (18.7%) who had failed methotrexate required surgery for cure. The success rate of single-dose methotrexate was 79.3%. Conclusion: Our study shows that single dose systemic methotrexate treatment can be used as an option in unruptured pregnancies.

Keywords

• Ectopic pregnancy
• methotrexate
• β-hCG
• single dose