Ectopic pregnancy how long before rupture

The risk of ectopic pregnancy is greater in people who:. Tests to identify an ectopic pregnancy, whether ruptured or not, may include:. Almost all ectopic pregnancies will require treatment. Treatment options for ectopic pregnancy currently include medical management or surgery.

Pharmacologic treatment with methotrexate can be used in an early ectopic pregnancy when there is no risk of imminent rupture. Surgery is needed if the ectopic pregnancy has ruptured. With surgery, either only the pregnancy is removed from the tube or the entire tube is removed. In ruptured ectopic pregnancy cases where a lot of blood has been lost, you may also require a blood transfusion. Emergency treatment may require initial stabilization with oxygen, fluids, and elevating the legs above the level of the heart.

Women often ask, " Can the baby in an ectopic pregnancy ever be saved? Be sure to have your doctor clearly explain your condition so you understand what has happened. It is natural to grieve the loss of your pregnancy and need emotional support or counseling. Possible complications or long-term effects of an ectopic pregnancy depend on many factors. The first concern is bleeding, and women may bleed to death if emergency care is not sought in a timely matter.

Thankfully, this is very rare in the United States with 21st-century medical care. You may be saddened and grieve for the loss of an ectopic pregnancy as you would for any form of miscarriage. It is natural to feel shock, anger, or guilt that this has happened to you, especially if you have been trying to conceive.

You will face hormonal changes that can intensify your emotions, as well as contribute to fatigue, difficulty sleeping, and trouble concentrating.

Reach out to your family and friends for emotional support. Counseling may also help you during this difficult time. Get diet and wellness tips delivered to your inbox.

Kumar V, Gupta J. Tubal ectopic pregnancy. BMJ Clin Evid. Fylstra DL. Tubal pregnancy: A review of current diagnosis and treatment. Obstet Gynecol Surv. This involves a blood test to evaluate her pregnancy hormone levels and an ultrasound to visualize the location of the developing fetus plus a pelvic exam. What happens to the fetus? The fetus rarely survives longer than a few weeks because tissues outside the uterus do not provide the necessary blood supply and structural support to promote placental growth and circulation to the developing fetus.

The sad truth is that when a pregnancy is ectopic, the fetus will not survive. How is it treated? There is no medical technique for transferring an ectopic pregnancy to the uterus where it could develop into a healthy pregnancy and baby. Methotrexate is commonly used for treating cancer because it destroys rapidly dividing cells. What happens to the mother? Sometimes, ectopic pregnancies result in miscarriages, but more often, the fallopian tube where the fetus is implanted stretches and becomes inflamed and extremely painful.

Most cases of ectopic pregnancy require emergency medical treatment because the growing fetus can cause the fallopian tube to rupture and as a result, massive internal bleeding can occur. In developed, high-income countries where emergency health care is easily accessible, severe injury or death is rare. Prior to the age of modern medicine and even today in countries where safe diagnostic and surgical techniques are unavailable, ectopic pregnancy can result in maternal death in more than 50 percent of cases.

When women can access the right healthcare, risk for death drops to less than five in 10, pregnancies. Accurate statistics for maternal outcomes in developing countries are difficult to come by.

Some women do not suspect that they are pregnant. When the structure ruptures, the woman usually feels severe, constant pain in the lower abdomen. If the woman has significant blood loss, she may faint, sweat, or feel light-headed. These symptoms may indicate that she has lost so much blood that she has dangerously low blood pressure shock Shock Shock is a life-threatening condition in which blood flow to the organs is low, decreasing delivery of oxygen and thus causing organ damage and sometimes death.

Blood pressure is usually low Doctors suspect an ectopic pregnancy in women who are of childbearing age and who have lower abdominal pain or vaginal bleeding, faint, or go into shock. In such women, a pregnancy test is done. If the pregnancy test is positive or, rarely, if the test is negative but symptoms still suggest ectopic pregnancy, ultrasonography is done using a handheld device inserted into the vagina called transvaginal ultrasonography.

If ultrasonography detects a fetus in a location other than its usual place in the uterus, the diagnosis is confirmed. If ultrasonography does not detect a fetus anywhere, ectopic pregnancy is still possible, or the pregnancy may be in the uterus but be so early that it cannot be seen. Doctors also do blood tests to measure a hormone produced by the placenta early in pregnancy called human chorionic gonadotropin hCG.

This test can help doctors determine whether the pregnancy is too early for the fetus to be visible in the uterus or is an ectopic pregnancy.

If needed to confirm the diagnosis, doctors may use a viewing tube called a laparoscope, inserted through a small incision just below the navel.

This procedure enables them to view an ectopic pregnancy directly. In most women, the fetus and placenta must be removed surgically, usually with a laparoscope Laparoscopy Sometimes doctors recommend screening tests, which are tests that are done to look for disorders in people who have no symptoms. If women have symptoms related to the reproductive system gynecologic During surgery, doctors remove the fetus and placenta and only the part of the fallopian tube that cannot be repaired.

This approach increases the chance that repairing the fallopian tube can enable women to become pregnant. However, sometimes the tube cannot be repaired. For small ectopic pregnancies that have not ruptured, one or more doses of the drug methotrexate , given by injection, can be used instead of surgery.

The drug causes the ectopic pregnancy to shrink and disappear. Doctors do blood tests to measure hCG every week to determine whether treatment with methotrexate was successful. Occasionally, when methotrexate is not used or is unsuccessful, surgery is needed. Merck and Co. From developing new therapies that treat and prevent disease to helping people in need, we are committed to improving health and well-being around the world. The Manual was first published in as a service to the community.