Ectopic pregnancy. An update on technologic advances in diagnosis and treatment.

From 1970 to 1986, the number of ectopic pregnancies in the United States quadrupled. Maternal mortality rates dramatically declined, yet the risk of dying from an ectopic pregnancy is still 10 times that associated with a term delivery and 50 times that associated with a legal elective abortion. Ectopic pregnancy can be a very difficult diagnosis to make, but advances in hCG assays and transvaginal ultrasound scanning allow the diagnosis to be made in 90% of cases before rupture. Conservative surgical and medical management are associated with success rates greater than 95% and resultant pregnancy rates of approximately 60%.