IMR Press / CEOG / Volume 24 / Issue 3 / pii/1997044

Clinical and Experimental Obstetrics & Gynecology (CEOG) is published by IMR Press from Volume 47 Issue 1 (2020). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with S.O.G.

Original Research

Systemic methotrexate treatment in early unruptured ectopic pregnancy

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1 II Institute of Ob/Gyn., University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Chair of Foetal. Medicine Parodi-Delfino Hospital, Colleferro, Section of Obstetrical Pathology, Rome (Italy)
Clin. Exp. Obstet. Gynecol. 1997, 24(3), 141–143;
Published: 10 September 1997
Abstract

Ectopic pregnancy is one of the most common and dangerous complications of the early pregnancy period. Until now diagnosis has been late because major symptoms occur after tubal rupture and so only demolitive surgery has been possible. At present, with the appearance of ultrasound in obstetrics an earlier diagnosis of this pathology can be made before tubal rupture so medical treatment has become possible. We treated a series of twelve patients with early ectopic pregnancy (9 tubal and 3 with no localized site of implantation) with intramuscular 0.5 mg/kg methotrexate and oral 0.1 mg/kg of folic acid (Citrovorum Factor) on alternate days, in the attempt to reduce hospitalization and obtain more effective and safer medical management. We observed a fall in serum β-HCG levels after one cycle of treatment in 11 out of 12 patients and after two cycles of therapy in the remaining case. Minimal side-effects were observed in four cases. Three pregnancies occunrred after treatment before the advised interval time and ended in blighted ovum. Methotrexate systemic therapy can be considered an elective treatment and a sufficiently safe management in early unruptured ectopic pregnancy when a good clinical selection of patients is performed.

Keywords
Ectopic pregnancy
Methotrexate
Early pregnancy
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