Emergency department screening for ectopic pregnancy: a prospective US study.
Publication/Presentation Date
3-1-1994
Abstract
PURPOSE: To determine the effectiveness of pelvic sonography as a screening test for ectopic pregnancy.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Pelvic sonograms were prospectively analyzed in 1,427 consecutive patients with a serum level of the beta subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin of over 1,500 IU/L.
RESULTS: Sonograms were diagnostic in 1,158 patients and indeterminate in 269. When indeterminate studies were considered falsely negative, the diagnostic accuracy was 81%. Twenty-four percent of patients with indeterminate studies were subsequently proved to have ectopic pregnancy. In ectopic pregnancy (n = 103), the most common finding was a complex adnexal mass (specificity = 92% [P < .001]). The sensitivity and specificity of screening sonography for ectopic pregnancy were 99% and 84%, respectively.
CONCLUSION: Pelvic sonography is an effective screening test for ectopic pregnancy. Having a one in four chance of harboring an ectopic pregnancy, patients with indeterminate studies require close follow-up. The presence of a complex adnexal mass is a strong predictor of ectopic pregnancy.
Volume
190
Issue
3
First Page
797
Last Page
802
ISSN
0033-8419
Published In/Presented At
Braffman, B. H., Coleman, B. G., Ramchandani, P., Arger, P. H., Nodine, C. F., Dinsmore, B. J., Louie, A., & Betsch, S. E. (1994). Emergency department screening for ectopic pregnancy: a prospective US study. Radiology, 190(3), 797–802. https://doi.org/10.1148/radiology.190.3.7509494
Disciplines
Diagnosis | Medicine and Health Sciences | Other Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment | Radiology
PubMedID
7509494
Department(s)
Department of Radiology and Diagnostic Medical Imaging
Document Type
Article