[Unruptured ectopic pregnancy: diagnosis and treatment. State of art]

It is advisable to do the non-invasive diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy precociously, before there is the tube rupture, combining for that the transvaginal ultrasonography with the dosage of the b-fraction of the chorionic gonadotrophin. A range of treatment options may be used. Either a surgical intervention or a clinical treatment may be taken into consideration. Laparotomy is indicated in cases of hemodynamic instability. Laparoscopy is the preferential route for the treatment of tube pregnancy. Salpingectomy should be performed in patients having the desired number of children, while salpingostomy should be indicated in patients willing to have more children, when the b-hCG titers are under 5,000 mUI/mL and the surgical conditions are favorable. The use of methotrexate (MTX) is a consecrated clinical procedure and should be indicated as the first option of treatment. The main criteria for MTX indication are hemodynamic stability, b-hCG <5,000 mUI/mL, anexial mass <3,5 cm, and no alive embryo. It is preferable a single intramuscular dose of 50 mg/m(2), because it is easier, more practical and with less side effects. Protocol with multiple doses should be restricted for the cases with atypical localization (interstitial, cervical, caesarean section scar and ovarian) with values of b-hCG >5,000 mUI/mL and no alive embryo. Indication for local treatment with an injection of MTX (1 mg/kg) guided by transvaginal ultrasonography should occur in cases of alive embryos, but with an atypical localization. An expectant conduct should be indicated in cases of decrease in the b-hCG titers within 48 hours before the treatment, and when the initial titers are under 1,500 mUI/mL. There are controversies between salpingectomy and salpingostomy, concerning the reproductive future. Till we reach an agreement in the literature, the advice to patients who are looking forward to a future gestation, is to choose either surgical or clinical conservative conducts.