Ectopic pregnancy: new advances in diagnosis and treatment

Recent reports affirm that ectopic pregnancy has become a medical rather than a surgical disease. Early diagnosis is the key to effective nonsurgical treatment. Diagnostic algorithms using serum progesterone, serial beta-human chorionic gonadotropin measurements, ultrasound, and office curettage now make definitive diagnosis possible without laparoscopy. Laparoscopic salpingostomy, the surgical gold standard, is an effective therapy but carries surgical complications and is expensive. Systemic variable dose methotrexate produces outcomes close to laparoscopic salpingostomy in similar patients. Single dose systemic methotrexate and intratubal methotrexate appear to be less effective. In many cases, ectopic pregnancies do not meet suitable medical criteria and still require surgery. The challenge today is identifying patients at risk and bringing them into the system during the early first trimester when treatment is simple.