Management of ectopic pregnancy

Each year, around 11,000 women in the UK (around 1% of all pregnancies) present with an ectopic pregnancy, in which a fertilised ovum implants elsewhere than in the uterine cavity, usually a Fallopian tube. Left untreated, tubal ectopic pregnancy can lead to rupture of the Fallopian tube and life-threatening haemorrhage, and never results in a live birth. Improvements in management have led to a fall in the mortality rate from 2.9 per 1000 ectopic pregnancies in the early 1970s to 0.4 per 1000 in 1994-1996. Here we review the current management of tubal ectopic pregnancy.