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Ectopic pregnancy and Chlamydial serology
Author(s) -
Odland J.Ø,
Ånestad G.,
Rasmussen S.,
Lundgren R.,
Dalaker K.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
international journal of gynecology and obstetrics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.895
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1879-3479
pISSN - 0020-7292
DOI - 10.1016/0020-7292(93)90515-x
Subject(s) - ectopic pregnancy , pelvic inflammatory disease , chlamydia trachomatis , medicine , obstetrics , pregnancy , serology , chlamydia , gestation , gynecology , titer , antibody , fallopian tube , immunology , biology , genetics
OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of humoral IgG antibodies to Chlamydia trachomatis in women with tubal pregnancies. METHODS: A study was made of 49 women with tubal pregnancies. The control group consisted of 50 pregnant women without any known fertility problems. RESULTS: Compared with the pregnant group of women, a statistically significant higher prevalence of chlamydial IgG antibody titer ≥ 64 was observed among the patients with gross abnormalities in the fallopian tube contralateral to the ectopic gestation (P = 0.002). The differences in geometric mean titer (GMT) were also statistically significant (P = 0.0004) between those two groups. The recall frequency of past pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) was increased 5–6‐fold in patients with ectopic pregnancy, compared with the intrauterine pregnant women. Twenty‐five of 30 patients (83%) with ectopic pregnancy and macroscopic tubal sequelae recalled a history of PID. The prevalence of chlamydial IgG antibody titer ≥ 64 among women with a past history of PID was 75.6% (34/45), compared with 44.4% (24/54) among the women without any history of past PID history (P = 0.002). Concerning GMT, the numbers were 27 and 154 among women with and without a past history of PID, respectively (Fig. 2). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that C. trachomatis is a major cause of oviductal damage, which predisposes to ectopic pregnancy.