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Combined Intrauterine and Tubal Ectopic Pregnancy
Author(s) -
Wong W.S. Felix,
Mao Kenneth
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.734
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1479-828X
pISSN - 0004-8666
DOI - 10.1111/j.1479-828x.1989.tb02884.x
Subject(s) - ectopic pregnancy , medicine , obstetrics , incidence (geometry) , pregnancy , gynecology , maternal death , uterus , population , physics , genetics , environmental health , optics , biology
EDITORIAL COMMENT: The Reports of Maternal Deaths in Australia for the 4 triennia 1973–1984 have shown that ectopic pregnancy (17 cases) ranks second only to primary postpartum haemorrhage (28 cases), ahead of rupture of the uterus (14 cases), placenta praevia (8 cases) and abmptio placentae (6 cases) as a cause of maternal death associated with haemorrhage — most commonly the intraperi‐toneal haemorrhage was undiagnosed with the patient dying at home or in transit to hospital. There are many reports that the incidence of ectopic pregnancy is increasing and the condition has a special relationship with in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer. The 2 cases of combined intrauterine and tubal ectopic pregnancies reported here are more than anecdotal; both were initially undiagnosed because of the known presence of an intrauterine pregnancy. The authors provide a useful discussion of the rules to keep in mind for early diagnosis of this potentially dangerous condition.