In vitro fertilisation and embryo transfer for bilateral salpingectomies results in a ruptured ovarian ectopic pregnancy due to a tubal stump fistula: a case report and review of the literature

Ovarian pregnancy after bilateral salpingectomy in a patient with in vitro fertilization: a case report

Ovarian pregnancy is rare but may occur with in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer in women who have undergone bilateral salpingectomy. We report a case of an approximately 30-year-old woman who had in vitro fertilization and a history of bilateral salpingectomy, and was diagnosed with an ovarian pregnancy. Laparoscopic enucleation of the gestational product in the ovary and ovarian remnant reconstruction were performed. The patient recovered well after surgery and was discharged home 5 days postoperatively. ß-human chorionic gonadotropin was undetectable 3 weeks after the surgery. Awareness of the possibility of ovarian pregnancy after in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer is the most important step in an early diagnosis and treatment. Salpingectomy should be carefully performed to eliminate the risk of heterotopic pregnancy, especially in cases where a subsequent gestation is desired.

Post-salpingectomy interstitial heterotopic pregnancy after in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer: A case report

BACKGROUND

Heterotopic pregnancy (HP) refers to the coexistence of ectopic pregnancy and intrauterine pregnancy. Salpingectomy is proposed as a pretreatment before in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET) to reduce the risk of HP. HP after IVF-ET occurs in women who had already underwent bilateral salpingectomy, even though it is extremely rare.

CASE SUMMARY

A case of a 29-year-old woman with recurrent interstitial HP after IVF-ET following salpingectomy is presented. The main symptom was a sudden and worsening pelvic pain. Physical examinations revealed signs of peritoneal bleeding and irritation with stable vital signs. Transvaginal ultrasound showed a live intrauterine pregnancy and another live embryo with cardiac activity in the left cornu extending beyond the lateral edge of the uterus. Her hemoglobin concentration was 8.0 g/dL, and serum human chorionic gonadotropin value was 171116.9 mIU/mL. With the diagnosis of ruptured HP with internal bleeding, an emergency laparoscopic resection of left cornu was performed. The interstitial pregnancy was removed with caution to protect the intrauterine pregnancy. After the surgical treatment, the intrauterine pregnancy continued with no complications. A healthy baby was delivered by caesarean section at 39 wk. Outcomes of another three cases are further summarized.

CONCLUSION

Post-salpingectomy HP is a rare but challenging condition. Surgical treatment is preferred in the case with a viable intrauterine pregnancy.

An investigation of the time trends, risk factors, role of ultrasonic preoperative diagnosis of 79 ovarian pregnancy

BACKGROUND

Ovarian pregnancy (OP) is a rare form of ectopic pregnancy and is still a medical challenge. Therefore, more studies about the time trends, risk factors and diagnostic measurements are needed for the efficient treatment of OP.

METHODS

The datum of OP patients who were treated at the Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University from 2003 to 2018 was collected and a retrospective cohort study was preformed between OP and tubal pregnancy.

RESULTS

79 of all 6943 ectopic pregnancy (1.14%) were OP. The prevalence of OP following assisted reproductive technology showed an increasing trend over time, from 8.33% to 15.22%. Previous abdominal surgery was one of the risk factors of OP (OR 0.41, 95% CI 0.18-0.95, p = 0.04). Merely 2 (2.53%) patients were sonographically diagnosed as OP accorded with their discharge diagnosis. However, 56 (80.0%) accumulation of blood in the pelvis formed echo free areas could be clearly found by ultrasonography. A significant difference was found in serum β-hCG level among OP patients and tubal pregnancy patients (2762.73 ± 1915.24 mmol/L vs 1034.20 ± 915.32 mmol/L, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of OP following assisted reproductive technology is on the rise. History of abdominal surgery may be a high risk factor for OP patients who have the tendency of high β-hCG levels. The ultrasonic preoperative diagnosis is conductive to the early diagnosis of OP though the diagnosis accuracy is low.

Laparoscopic Management of 42 Cases of Tubal Stump Pregnancy and Postoperative Reproductive Outcomes

STUDY OBJECTIVE

Tubal stump pregnancy is a rare variant of ectopic pregnancy. The aim of this study was to evaluate laparoscopic surgery for tubal stump pregnancy and to investigate postoperative pregnancy outcomes.

DESIGN

Retrospective study.

SETTING

University-affiliated hospital.

PATIENTS

Patients (n = 42) diagnosed with tubal stump pregnancy.

INTERVENTIONS

Data were extracted from the electronic medical records system of the hospital.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

Patients diagnosed with tubal stump pregnancy between June 2010 and July 2018 were included. Data included demographic characteristics, gravidity and parity, history of pelvic surgery, clinical features, and treatment. All procedures were laparoscopic. Postoperative pregnancy outcomes were identified from electronic medical records or by telephone. Patients' mean age was 30 (range, 21-39) years. Twelve of 42 tubal stump pregnancies (28.6%) had ruptured ectopic pregnancy at the time of operation. The remaining 30 cases had intact stump pregnancy during surgery. Patients were followed for a mean of 31 (range, 10-60) months. Follow-up data were available for 33 of 39 patients (3 with heterotopic tubal stump pregnancy were not included in follow-up data because all resulted in a live births and had no desire for future pregnancy). Eighteen of 28 patients (64.3%) who attempted conception had intrauterine pregnancies (IUPs) during the follow-up period; of these 18 IUPs, 14 (77.8%) resulted in live births. There was 1 case of uterine rupture in a singleton pregnancy at 20⁺⁵ weeks that resulted in fetal death. Three of 18 IUPs (16.7%) ended in the first trimester with spontaneous abortions.

CONCLUSION

Laparoscopic surgery is a feasible option for tubal stump pregnancy and is associated with favorable pregnancy outcomes.

Unilateral Salpingectomy and Methotrexate Are Associated With a Similar Recurrence Rate of Ectopic Pregnancy in Patients Undergoing In Vitro Fertilization

STUDY OBJECTIVE

To determine whether different treatment approaches of ectopic pregnancy (EP), particularly unilateral salpingectomy and methotrexate, affect its recurrence rate in patients undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF).

DESIGN

A retrospective cohort study (Canadian Task Force classification II-2).

SETTING

An academic medical center.

PATIENTS

Patients with a history of a previous EP who achieved pregnancy after IVF cycles between January 2004 and August 2015 were included. The recurrence rate of EP was compared between patients who underwent different treatment approaches for a previous EP.

INTERVENTIONS

IVF.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

A total of 594 patients were included. Seventeen patients had a recurrence of EP (2.9%). Patients with a history of ≥2 EPs were associated with a significantly higher recurrence rate of EP than those with 1 previous EP (8.5% vs. 1.8%; p = .01; odds ratio [OR] = 2.2; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.2-4.4). Patients who underwent unilateral salpingectomy (n = 245) had a comparable recurrence rate of EP after IVF with those who received methotrexate (n = 283) (3.6% vs. 2.8%; p = .5; OR = 1.3; 95% CI, 0.4-3.4). This OR remained unchanged after adjusting for patient's age, number of previous EPs, number of transferred embryos, and peak estradiol level during stimulation (adjusted OR = 1.4; 95% CI, 0.5-3.8). None of the patients who underwent bilateral salpingectomy (n = 45) or salpingostomy (n = 21) had a recurrence of EP after IVF.

CONCLUSION

The recurrence rate of EP significantly correlates with the number of previous EPs. Treatment of EP with methotrexate has a comparable recurrence rate of EP after IVF with unilateral salpingectomy. Therefore, the risk of recurrence should not be a reason to favor salpingectomy over methotrexate in this population.

Heterotopic Pregnancy After In Vitro Fertilization and Embryo Transfer After Bilateral Total Salpingectomy/Tubal Ligation: Case Report and Literature Review

Heterotopic pregnancy is defined as the simultaneous occurrence of intrauterine and ectopic pregnancy, either of which may be single or multiple. It occurs in up to 1% of pregnancies after in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer. This article reports 2 rare cases of heterotopic pregnancy after in vitro fertilization and presents a literature review. In the first case, a 28-year-old woman had previous laparoscopic bilateral total salpingectomy for a right tubal pregnancy and a left hydrosalpinx. However, she had ovarian heterotopic pregnancy after a third in vitro fertilization cycle. Emergency laparotomy was performed. The synchronous intrauterine pregnancy continued with no further complications and ended in the delivery of a singleton term pregnancy. The second case combined interstitial and intrauterine pregnancies after bilateral tubal ligation for hydrosalpinges followed by in vitro fertilization and frozen embryo transfer. The possibility of heterotopic pregnancy after bilateral total salpingectomy/tubal ligation, although extremely rare, should also be considered by gynecologists when they treat an in vitro fertilization patient even though an intrauterine pregnancy has been confirmed.

Misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis for ectopic and heterotopic pregnancies after in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer

This study examined the misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis factors for ectopic pregnancy (EP) and heterotopic pregnancy (HP) after in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET) in an attempt to reduce the diagnostic error. Clinical data of patients who underwent IVF-ET treatment and had clinical pregnancy from 12463 cycles were retrospectively analyzed. Their findings of serum β-hCG test and transvaginal ultrasonography were also obtained during follow-up. These patients were divided into two groups according to the diagnosis accuracy of EP/HP: early diagnosis and misdiagnosis/delayed diagnosis. The results showed that the incidence of EP and HP was 3.8% (125/3286) and 0.8% (27/3286) respectively for IVF/ICSI-ET cycle, and 3.8% (55/1431) and 0.7% (10/1431) respectively for frozen- thawed embryo transfer (FET) cycle. Ruptured EP occurred in 28 patients due to initial misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis. Related factors fell in 3 categories: (1) clinician factors: misunderstanding of patients' medical history, insufficient training in ultrasonography and unawareness of EP and HP; (2) patient factors: noncompliance with medical orders and lack of communication with clinicians; (3) complicated conditions of EP: atypical symptoms, delayed elevation of serum β-hCG level, early rupture of cornual EP, asymptomatic in early gestation and pregnancy of unknown location. All the factors were interwoven, contributing to the occurrence of EP and HP. It was concluded that complicated conditions are more likely to affect the diagnosis accuracy of EP/HP after IVF-ET. Transvaginal ultrasonography should be performed at 5 weeks of gestation. Intensive follow-up including repeated ultrasonography and serial serum β-hCG tests should be performed in patients with a suspicious diagnosis at admission.