{"title":"Updates in emergency medicine: Ectopic pregnancy","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.ajem.2024.09.005","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Introduction</h3><p>Ectopic pregnancy is a serious condition that can have significant morbidity and mortality.</p></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><p>This review highlights the pearls and pitfalls of ectopic pregnancy, including presentation, diagnosis, and management in the emergency department (ED) based on current evidence.</p></div><div><h3>Discussion</h3><p>Ectopic pregnancy is a pregnancy that implants outside the normal uterine cavity. It most commonly presents with vaginal bleeding, abdominal or pelvic pain, and amenorrhea. Risk factors for ectopic pregnancy include abnormalities of the fallopian tube, prior ectopic pregnancy, and age over 35 years, but a significant number of patients with confirmed ectopic pregnancy will not have an identifiable risk factor. In patients with suspected ectopic pregnancy, evaluation includes quantitative serum hCG, blood type, and ultrasound. Ultrasound is necessary regardless of the hCG level. If the patient is hemodynamically unstable, resuscitation with blood products and early consultation of obstetrics/gynecology is necessary. Patients with confirmed ectopic pregnancy but who are otherwise stable may be managed medically or surgically. If a yolk sac or fetal pole is not seen in the uterus on ultrasound, this is considered a pregnancy of unknown location (PUL), which may represent an early, failed, or ectopic pregnancy. Stable patients with a PUL who can reliably follow up are managed with close specialist follow up and repeat 48 h HCG level. These patients need to have an hCG level repeated every 48 h until diagnosed with a viable pregnancy, failed pregnancy, or ectopic pregnancy.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>Knowledge of the latest advances in managing ectopic pregnancy will help clinicians more quickly and accurately diagnose patients presenting with this potentially fatal condition.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55536,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Emergency Medicine","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.7000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"American Journal of Emergency Medicine","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0735675724004443","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"EMERGENCY MEDICINE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Introduction
Ectopic pregnancy is a serious condition that can have significant morbidity and mortality.
Objective
This review highlights the pearls and pitfalls of ectopic pregnancy, including presentation, diagnosis, and management in the emergency department (ED) based on current evidence.
Discussion
Ectopic pregnancy is a pregnancy that implants outside the normal uterine cavity. It most commonly presents with vaginal bleeding, abdominal or pelvic pain, and amenorrhea. Risk factors for ectopic pregnancy include abnormalities of the fallopian tube, prior ectopic pregnancy, and age over 35 years, but a significant number of patients with confirmed ectopic pregnancy will not have an identifiable risk factor. In patients with suspected ectopic pregnancy, evaluation includes quantitative serum hCG, blood type, and ultrasound. Ultrasound is necessary regardless of the hCG level. If the patient is hemodynamically unstable, resuscitation with blood products and early consultation of obstetrics/gynecology is necessary. Patients with confirmed ectopic pregnancy but who are otherwise stable may be managed medically or surgically. If a yolk sac or fetal pole is not seen in the uterus on ultrasound, this is considered a pregnancy of unknown location (PUL), which may represent an early, failed, or ectopic pregnancy. Stable patients with a PUL who can reliably follow up are managed with close specialist follow up and repeat 48 h HCG level. These patients need to have an hCG level repeated every 48 h until diagnosed with a viable pregnancy, failed pregnancy, or ectopic pregnancy.
Conclusions
Knowledge of the latest advances in managing ectopic pregnancy will help clinicians more quickly and accurately diagnose patients presenting with this potentially fatal condition.
期刊介绍:
A distinctive blend of practicality and scholarliness makes the American Journal of Emergency Medicine a key source for information on emergency medical care. Covering all activities concerned with emergency medicine, it is the journal to turn to for information to help increase the ability to understand, recognize and treat emergency conditions. Issues contain clinical articles, case reports, review articles, editorials, international notes, book reviews and more.