Publication:

Ectopic pregnancy: a five year retrospective study in a tertiary care hospital

Background A ruptured ectopic pregnancy is a true emergency and remains the leading cause of pregnancy related first trimester deaths. The objective was to study the clinical profile of ectopic pregnancy in a tertiary care hospital.

Methods It was a retrospective study conducted at Christian Medical College & Hospital, Ludhiana from 1st June 2009 to 31st May 2014. A total of 108 patients with ectopic pregnancy were analysed on clinical presentation, clinical findings, investigations, operative findings and outcome.

Results A majority of women (44.44%) were in the age group of 26-30 years and 50% were multigravida. Risk factors were identifiable in 71.29% patients. Amenorrhea (91.6%) and pain abdomen (92.82%) were the most common presenting symptoms. Twenty (18.51%) women had laparoscopy, 72 (66.67%) underwent an exploratory laparotomy and sixteen (14.81%) women received medical management. There were no maternal deaths and post-operative morbidity in the form of febrile illness (11.11%), and wound sepsis (4.62%) was seen.

Conclusions Ectopic pregnancy still remains one of the major causes of maternal morbidity and mortality. Early diagnosis and referral in hemodynamically stable state along with use of minimal access surgery or medical management can change the scenario of ectopic pregnancy in the developing world.