Diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy by ultrasound

This is an automatically translated article.

The article is professionally consulted by Master, Doctor Ly Thi Thanh Nha - Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology - Vinmec International General Hospital Da Nang. Doctor Nha has strengths and experience in fetal malformation ultrasound, 3D, 4D fetal ultrasound.
An ectopic pregnancy is a condition in which a fertilized egg implants and grows in a location outside the uterus with more than 95% related to the fallopian tubes. This is a very dangerous medical condition that can cause a woman to go into shock and lose blood, leading to death. Therefore, early diagnosis and treatment of ectopic pregnancy is essential with the support of ectopic pregnancy ultrasound images.

1. What is an ectopic pregnancy?

An ectopic pregnancy is a condition in which the implantation of the fetus occurs in a location other than the endometrium of the uterus. It can be the fallopian tubes, the horn of the uterus, the cervix, the ovaries or the abdominal cavity, the pelvis. Patients with an ectopic pregnancy are unable to carry a full-term pregnancy and eventually the pregnancy ruptures or regresses.
Early signs and symptoms include late menstrual period pelvic pain, vaginal bleeding and cervical pain on mobility, fainting, or hemorrhagic shock that may occur with rupture. In order to diagnose an ectopic pregnancy, in addition to the clinical examination, it is also necessary to help by measuring beta HCG levels and ultrasound of the ectopic pregnancy.

2. Who is at risk of ectopic pregnancy?

Ectopic pregnancy with tubal implantation is the most common form of the disease with the main cause being an infection of the two fallopian tubes. In addition, hormonal imbalance and abnormal development of the fertilized egg also play an important role. People at high risk for ectopic pregnancy include:
Having a history of an ectopic pregnancy Inflammation or infection of the fallopian tubes from a sexually transmitted disease such as gonorrhea or chlamydia increases the risk of an ectopic pregnancy Participants in infertility treatment with in vitro fertilization or other infertility treatments have a higher chance of having an ectopic pregnancy than conceiving naturally. Infertility itself increases the rate of ectopic pregnancy Fallopian tube surgery : surgical repair of a previous fallopian tube abnormality increases the risk of ectopic pregnancy Contraceptive methods For example, an intrauterine device has a low probability of ectopic pregnancy, but if contraception fails, it can still happen. Smoking is directly related to the likelihood of an ectopic pregnancy. .

3. Can ultrasound detect an ectopic pregnancy?

Currently, with the advancement of science and technology, ultrasound has helped in early diagnosis of intrauterine pregnancy and ectopic pregnancy. Transvaginal ultrasound can see the gestational sac at 4 to 5 weeks of pregnancy from the first day of the last menstrual period. When the fetus develops, the yolk sac will be seen at 5 weeks and the embryo with the fetal heart will be visible from 5-6 weeks.
To distinguish from false gestational sac, true gestational sac has an echo ring around the gestational sac. Ultrasound and quantitative βHCG will help accurately diagnose ectopic pregnancy. Normally, abdominal ultrasound will show a live fetus in the uterus and βHCG above 6500 mUI/ml. If transvaginal ultrasound does not show an intrauterine pregnancy and βHCG is less than 1500 mUI/ml, it may be due to causes such as:
Normal intrauterine pregnancy but too early Abnormal intrauterine pregnancy New miscarriage Ectopic pregnancy Unknown location Besides, laparoscopy is the gold standard for diagnosing ectopic pregnancy, through laparoscopy to help observe the fallopian tubes easily. However, if the fetus is too small, this condition can be missed with a rate of 2-5%.
Vinmec International General Hospital is one of the hospitals that not only ensures professional quality with a team of leading medical doctors, a system of modern equipment and technology.
Customers when examining and diagnosing ectopic pregnancy, doctors advise hospitalization to monitor to avoid life-threatening acute bleeding complications. At the hospital, patients will be monitored for changes in their general condition, pulse, blood pressure, abdominal pain, vaginal bleeding... and Beta hCG tests, blood tests, ultrasound.
The hospital provides comprehensive, professional medical examination, consultation and treatment services, with a civilized, polite, safe and sterile medical examination and treatment space. Customers when choosing to perform tests here can be completely assured of the accuracy of test results.

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