Article Text

Download PDFPDF
The diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy in an accident and emergency department.
  1. M J Clancy,
  2. R N Illingworth
  1. Accident and Emergency Department, St James's University Hospital, Leeds, England.

    Abstract

    The correct diagnosis was initially suspected in 32 (53%) of 60 patients with ectopic pregnancy who attended an accident and emergency department. Incorrect diagnoses were made because ectopic pregnancy was not considered or because relevant symptoms and signs were missed or misinterpreted. Three patients had been 'sterilized'. Twenty-four patients (40%) had abdominal pain or vaginal bleeding for more than 1 week before attending. Fever and leucocytosis were wrongly attributed to pelvic infection. Pregnancy tests were positive in 56% of the patients tested.

    Statistics from Altmetric.com

    Request Permissions

    If you wish to reuse any or all of this article please use the link below which will take you to the Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink service. You will be able to get a quick price and instant permission to reuse the content in many different ways.