Methotrexate as the first-line treatment of unruptured tubular ectopic pregnancies with high initial human chorionic gonadotropin levels: A retrospective cohort

Objectives

To evaluate the effectiveness of the first-line medical management with Methotrexate (MTX) in the treatment of patients with stable tubal Ectopic Pregnancies (EPs) and varying ranges of Beta-Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (β-HCG) levels.

Materials and methods

In this retrospective cohort study, we reviewed the medical records of a total of 184 patients with the diagnosis of tubal EP, who received MTX as their first-line treatment. Patients with a baseline β-HCG< 4800 mIU/mL received single-dose MTX (n = 136) and those with an initial β-HCG≥ 4800 mIU/mL underwent the double-dose MTX regimen (n = 48). The treatment success was determined by evaluating the reported weekly β-HCG levels of the patients.

Results

Baseline β-HCG and mass size in the single-dose group were 1895.1 ± 1463.4 mIU/mL and 2.2 ± 1.1 cm, respectively, compared to 17,867.6 ± 31,870.5 mIU/mL and 2.3 ± 1.1 cm in the double-dose group. Treatment duration was 30.6 ± 16.9 days for single dose and 41.0 ± 27.0 days for double dose, with additional MTX in 27.2% and 12.5% in respective groups. Single dose achieved a 92.6% success rate, and double dose, 81.3%, without serious adverse effects. No significant effects were seen for either baseline β-HCG and mass size on the treatment success rates of both groups (p-value>0.05). However, the presence of Fetal Heart Rate (FHR) was associated with poorer responses only in the single-dose group (p-value=0.034).

Conclusions

Medical management with MTX shows promise as a first-line treatment for tubal EPs with β-HCG> 2000, suggesting a potential reassessment of existing guidelines in light of this emerging evidence. However, further research seems crucial in this field.