The utility of a dilatation and evacuation procedure in patients with symptoms suggestive of ectopic pregnancy and indeterminate transvaginal ultrasonography.

OBJECTIVES: To ascertain the overall frequency of obtaining chorionic villi (CV) in patients with indeterminate transvaginal ultrasound (US) examinations who have had a dilatation and evacuation (D+E) procedure performed, to determine whether the frequency of obtaining CV is dependent on whether the endometrial cavity is empty at US, and to determine the likelihood of ectopic pregnancy in patients without CV after D+E and with or without an empty endometrial cavity at US.

METHODS: A retrospective review was made of consecutive ED patients presenting to an urban teaching hospital from August 1991 through August 1997 with abdominal pain or vaginal bleeding and a positive beta-human chorionic gonatropin (beta-hCG) test. Patients who had a transvaginal US that was read as indeterminate (no extrauterine findings of ectopic pregnancy, and no intrauterine fetal pole or yolk sac) and who had a D+E performed within 48 hours of the ED visit were eligible. US exams were subdivided into two groups, those with empty endometrial cavities and those with endometrial cavities that contained fluid, echogenic material, or sac-like structures. The presence or absence of CV was based on the official pathology report. Patients were excluded if pathology results were not available.

RESULTS: A total of 255 patients met eligibility criteria. Of these, pathology results were not available for five patients. Of the remaining patients, 177 of 250 (70.8%: 95% CI = 64.7% to 76.3%) had CV identified in the pathology specimen. The difference in the frequencies of obtaining CV in those with empty endometrial cavities (35/78; 44.9%: 95% CI = 34% to 56%) vs. those without empty endometrial cavities (142/172; 82.6%: 95% CI = 76% to 88%) was significant (p<0.001). Ectopic pregnancy was diagnosed in 17 of 42 (40.0%) with empty uteri at US and no CV at pathology vs 5 of 26 (19.2%) in whom the uterus was not empty and no CV were obtained (p = 0.07).

CONCLUSION: In symptomatic patients with indeterminate transvaginal ultrasound exams, CV will be identified after D+E in approximately 70% of cases. Although CV were found with increased frequency when the endometrial cavity was not empty, still almost half of the patients with empty uteri had villi identified. Finally, although the frequency of ectopic pregnancy was higher in the patients with empty uteri and no CV at D+E, vs. those without an empty uterus and no CV, this difference did not reach statistical significance.