How ectopic pregnancy should be delivered to the students/interns.
Clear, to the point!
Ectopic Pregnancy
by Dan O’Brien, USA
A 24-year-old woman presents to the emergency department with the complaint of lower abdominal pain and vaginal spotting. She has never been pregnant. Her last normal menstrual period was two months ago. She had light spotting last month and states that her period this month is late. Her history is notable for one episode of lower abdominal pain two years ago thought to be the pelvic inflammatory disease that responded to a two-week course of oral antibiotics. She has no medical allergies and is not on any medications.
Review of systems and family history are unremarkable. Her social history is significant in that she is in a monogamous relationship and is not using birth control. Her general appearance is that of a well-developed female with a temperature of 37ºC, a blood pressure of 110/70 mm Hg and a pulse of 90 bpm. An examination of her abdomen reveals normal bowel sounds, no masses, distension, organomegaly or rebound tenderness. She is mildly tender to palpation in the left lower quadrant. Pelvic exam reveals left adnexal tenderness without palpable masses. The rectal exam is normal with hemoccult negative stool. Pertinent lab values: urine dip pregnancy testing is positive, quantitative serum B-hCG is 2000 mIU/mL, hemoglobin 13 gr/dL, hematocrit 40%. She is Rh-positive. A transvaginal ultrasound performed by the emergency physician during the pelvic exam fails to demonstrate an intrauterine pregnancy. There is a small amount of fluid in the rectouterine cul-de-sac. 2 cm ectopic pregnancy was identified. Two large-bore IV’s were started, the patient was crossmatched for blood and OB-GYN was consulted. Treatment options were discussed.