Decline in βhCG levels between days 0 and 4 after a single dose of methotrexate for ectopic pregnancy predicts treatment success: a retrospective cohort study.
retrospective_cohort · Level III
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 21895960.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1111/j.1471-0528.2011.03133.x.
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Abstract
In current protocols for the medical management of ectopic pregnancies, the first indication of treatment response is obtained no sooner than day 7. We examined whether human chorionic gonadotrophin (βhCG) trends between days 0 and 4 after methotrexate provide an earlier indication of the likely outcome. Of 33 patients where serum βhCG dropped between days 0 and 4 after methotrexate, the ectopic pregnancy was resolved in 88% of cases without further treatment. Of 12 women where serum βhCG rose between days 0 and 4, only 42% had treatment success. A fall in βhCG between days 0 and 4 after treatment with methotrexate for ectopic pregnancy predicts a high likelihood of treatment success.
Medical subject headings
- Abortifacient Agents, Nonsteroidal
- Chorionic Gonadotropin, beta Subunit, Human
- Methotrexate
- Pregnancy, Ectopic