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Plasma progesterone kinetics following surgical treatment of ectopic pregnancies
A Gravier1, G Descargues, F Voisin
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pavillon Mère et enfant, Hôpital Charles Nicolle, 1 rue de Germont, 76031, Rouen Cedex, France.
Objectives:
Comparative study of plasma progesterone and betaHCG kinetics following surgical treatment of ectopic pregnancy.
Study Design:
Prospective study involving 62 patients with tubal ectopic pregnancies. Study of the kinetics of plasma progesterone and betaHCG, and the correlation coefficient between plasma progesterone and betaHCG levels during post-operative follow-up.
Results:
Thirty-nine patients were treated by salpingostomy and 23 by salpingectomy. Analyzing the betaHCG kinetics according to treatment revealed that both curves were convergent on day 2. Progesterone kinetics differed greatly in that they appeared "parallel and confused". Analyzing the correlation between betaHCG and progesterone levels proved the absence of a significant link.
Conclusions:
Studying the kinetics of plasma progesterone after surgical treatment of ectopic pregnancies revealed a fast decrease in progesterone. Statistical analysis of the progesterone concentration showed that post-operative kinetics is fully independent from that of betaHCG. Progesterone therefore cannot be substituted to betaHCG for post-operative follow-up.