Methotrexate as the first-line treatment of unruptured tubular ectopic pregnancies with high initial human chorionic gonadotropin levels: A retrospective cohort

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of the first-line medical management with Methotrexate (MTX) in the treatment of patients with stable tubal Ectopic Pregnancies (EPs) and varying ranges of Beta-Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (β-HCG) levels. Materials and methods: In this retrospective cohort study, we reviewed the medical records of a total of 184 patients with the diagnosis of tubal EP, who received MTX as their first-line treatment. Patients with a baseline β-HCG0.05). However, the presence of Fetal Heart Rate (FHR) was associated with poorer responses only in the single-dose group (p-value=0.034). Conclusions: Medical management with MTX shows promise as a first-line treatment for tubal EPs with β-HCG> 2000, suggesting a potential reassessment of existing guidelines in light of this emerging evidence. However, further research seems crucial in this field.

Keywords

• Ectopic Pregnancy
• Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin
• Methotrexate
• Pregnancy
• Tubal Pregnancy