Ectopic pregnancy is an insidious and dangerous condition when a fertilized egg does not enter the uterus and begins to develop outside the uterine cavity, more often in the tube. The growth of the fetal egg can lead to rupture of the tube and the development of massive bleeding. The insidiousness of such a pregnancy is that its beginning can not be different from normal. About ectopic pregnancy can already speak symptoms of a rupture of the uterine tube: pain in the right or left iliac region and spotting from the genital tract.
What is the hCG in ectopic pregnancy?
An increase in human chorionic gonadotropin is a diagnostic criterion for the onset of pregnancy. The hCG values for ectopic pregnancy will be elevated, as in normal pregnancy, which will be confirmed by the usual pregnancy test. However, if you compare the dynamics of hCG with ectopic pregnancy and normal, you can see that the growth of hCG in ectopic pregnancy will occur somewhat more slowly. Therefore, when carrying out the pregnancy test, one strip can be clear, and the second questionable. This is due to the fact that the result of hCG in ectopic pregnancy lags behind that in normal pregnancy for 1-2 weeks. A more accurate result can be obtained if an ultrasound is performed, in which the embryo is not detected in the uterine cavity, and a rounded formation is visualized in the fallopian tube.
Analysis of hCG in ectopic pregnancy
A human chorionic gonadotropin test is performed by taking a blood and urine sample. The most unreliable method is a pregnancy test, which only shows - there is an increase in beta hCG or not. The most reliable is the result of a blood test, according to which it is clearly possible to follow the dynamics of the growth of hCG in ectopic pregnancy. To track the growth of beta hCG in ectopic pregnancy, you need to explore it in dynamics. A normal pregnancy is characterized by an increase in beta hCG every 2 days by 65%, and in the case of an ectopic pregnancy this index increases by 2 times in just a week. The slow buildup of human chorionic gonadotropin can also be a symptom of an undeveloped pregnancy or the onset of a spontaneous miscarriage.
How to diagnose an ectopic pregnancy?
The diagnosis of an ectopic pregnancy can be made only by an experienced doctor, and a woman can only assume that her pregnancy does not proceed normally. Possible symptoms that should alert a pregnant woman are as follows:
- scanty spotting during supposed menstruation;
- painful sensations in the lower abdomen of a pulling character;
- questionable results of a pregnancy test after a week or more after a delay in menstruation.
If you have these symptoms, you should immediately consult a doctor to go through all the necessary
It can be concluded that the study of the values of hCG in ectopic pregnancy is not the only and universal method, but there is only a symptom that speaks about the pathology of the development of pregnancy. The diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy can be made only on the basis of the integrated use of clinical, laboratory and instrumental methods of research.