Diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy

Despite the fact that in medicine there is a technical and scientific progress, the timely detection of ectopic pregnancy remains quite relevant. First of all, it is worth noting that the probability of maternal mortality is very high with too late diagnosis: shock and internal bleeding develop instantly. Moreover, the diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy, also called ectopic pregnancy, is often not an easy task even for professionals.

Causes

The main reasons that the egg after fertilization is not fixed in the uterus are inflammatory diseases and adhesions in the tubes. The formation of adhesions and poor patency of the pipes occurs most often after abortions, other operations and with genital infections. Also a prerequisite for the wrong course of pregnancy are hormonal disorders of the female body.

The main types of ectopic pregnancy:

  1. Ectopic tube pregnancy, when the fetus begins to grow in one of the fallopian tubes. It occurs in most cases - 98%.
  2. Ovarian ectopic pregnancy is a rare case (1%). It can be intraphollicular, when a fertilized egg is located inside the ovary, and ovarian, which is characterized by the placement of the embryo on the surface of the ovary. Ectopic pregnancy in the ovary is considered the most difficult of ectopic pregnancies.
  3. Ectopic pregnancy in the abdominal cavity is very rare. It happens mostly in women who have recently undergone the removal of tubal pregnancy. The fetus can attach to any internal organ.

How often does an ectopic pregnancy occur?

According to statistics, ectopic pregnancy is diagnosed in 1 of 200 pregnant women. At the same time, patients with chronic gynecological diseases are at risk.

How to diagnose ectopic pregnancy?

Usual and ectopic pregnancy during the first weeks do not show themselves. Nuisance begins with intensive growth of the fetal egg, when due to the stretching of the fallopian tube, there are drawing pains, giving back or shoulder (meaning the most common type of pathology - tubal). Painful sensations can be accompanied by fainting, severe sweating and a sharp deterioration in well-being. In most cases this occurs at 6-9 weeks of pregnancy. The earlier the type of pregnancy is established, the greater the chances of maintaining the functions of the uterine tube.

For the diagnosis, the character of bloody vaginal discharge is also important. If a positive analysis for HCG blood is not scarlet, and brown, it indicates a tubal pregnancy. In the presence of the above signs, you need to immediately contact a gynecologist, because with an ectopic pregnancy, a pipe rupture threatens a woman with a fatal outcome.

At laboratory diagnostics of an ectopic pregnancy the doctor appoints the daily analysis of a blood on hCG. For the fetus located in the uterus, the growth of this hormone is characteristic for a certain schedule, and for an ectopic pregnancy given regularity will not. In rare cases, surgical intervention is used to diagnose: a vaginal fluid sample is taken from the abdominal cavity to examine it for blood content.

Ultrasound diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy

With the help of a special vaginal probe, abnormal attachment of the embryo is already noticeable starting from the sixth week of pregnancy. In recent years, modern ultrasound machines due to high resolution help to identify even an asymptomatic course of this pathology.