How to rule out an ectopic pregnancy? Ectopic pregnancy: the test will show or not?

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Ectopic pregnancy is a serious pathology that requires timely detection. Otherwise, the consequences can be very sad. The sooner it is diagnosed that it is the ectopic type of pregnancy that is developing, the more likely it is to maintain he alth. This pathology has certain signs. How to exclude an ectopic pregnancy, whether a regular home test will show two strips will be discussed later.

Description of pathology

In the process of planning a pregnancy, a woman gets acquainted with a lot of information. There are situations that require immediate action. One of the possible risks when planning a pregnancy is its ectopic form. Every woman should know the main symptoms of such a pathology. Not only he alth, but also life sometimes depends on this.

Therefore, women are interested in many questions regarding this pathology. They are interested in how and why the egg is attached in an unintended place for this, whether menstruation occurs during an ectopic pregnancy, whether the test will show it. Today, more and more cases of such pathology are recorded.

During the normal course of pregnancy, a fertilized egg travels down the fallopian tube. Then it enters the uterus, where it is implanted in the wall of this organ. But in 2% of all pregnancies, the egg does not reach the uterus. She begins further development in an unintended place. In 99% of cases, this occurs in the fallopian tube. This process can also occur elsewhere, such as in the ovary or abdomen.

In the vast majority of cases, such a pregnancy is terminated. She is not viable. In some very rare cases, it is possible to save the fetus, but this is rather an exception that proves the rule.

How to detect an ectopic pregnancy at home? It's almost impossible to do it for sure. Rather, it can be assumed that something is wrong in the body. Only an experienced doctor after a comprehensive diagnosis will be able to determine exactly where the fertilized egg has attached. The difficulty lies in the fact that the symptoms up to a certain critical moment can be mild. It is possible that a heteroscopic pregnancy develops. In this case, one fetal egg develops, as expected, in the uterus, and the second - in any unintendedfor this place. Diagnosis in this case will be quite difficult.

Women at risk should be especially attentive to the signals of their own body. According to statistics, they are more at risk of developing such a pathology.

Reasons

There are certain reasons for the development of an ectopic pregnancy. How to understand that a pathological process is taking place? First of all, you need to carefully monitor this process in women at risk. It is not fully understood why such a deviation occurs. But according to statistics, the presented pathology often develops in the following cases:

• Age over 35. But sometimes such a deviation is diagnosed at an earlier age.
• Chronic inflammatory processes in the pelvis. They, for example, can be caused by chlamydial infection, ureplasmas, mycoplasmas and other pathogenic microorganisms.
• Hormonal disruptions in the body lead to the malfunctioning of almost all systems. Because of this, an ectopic type of pregnancy can also develop.
• Any disease in the fallopian tubes significantly increases the risk of developing a pathological process. It can also be their congenital underdevelopment. Problems also arise if the fallopian tubes are too long, tortuous.
• Endometriosis also increases the likelihood of rejection. Therefore, before getting pregnant, you need to cure all concomitant diseases.
• Women with uterine anomalies are also at risk.
• Miscarriage for any reason (includingabortion).
• Using an intrauterine device as a contraceptive.
• Formation of tumors in the reproductive system (malignant, benign).

The use of technologies such as IVF, ovulation stimulation, can lead to undesirable consequences.

Women who have encountered the listed problems need to be able to recognize an ectopic pregnancy at the earliest possible date. How to understand that such a pathology is developing, there are several methods.

Ectopic pregnancy progression

How to exclude an ectopic pregnancy in the early stages? To answer this question, we need to consider this process in more detail. With the development of pathology, the fertilized egg, for various reasons, does not have time to get into the uterine cavity. Therefore, it is attached to the walls of another organ, exactly in the place where it is located. Next is the growth of the fetal egg.

But in places not intended for the development of the embryo, there is no ability for tissues to stretch. Only the mother can do this. Therefore, there is not enough free space for the development of the fetus in the fallopian tube or elsewhere.

For this reason, at some point, the cavity in which the fetal egg develops simply breaks. There is internal bleeding into the abdominal cavity. This process is accompanied by a sharp pain, which can be cramping. There is dizziness, sweating, weakness. The woman may lose consciousness. If damage has affected a large vessel, this can result in significant blood loss. Such a situation without timely surgical intervention leads to death.

It is worth noting that sometimes there may be no signs of an ectopic pregnancy at 2 weeks after conception. But with an ultrasound examination, it is already possible to identify a developing pathology. The examination should be carried out using a transvaginal probe. If the equipment is of high quality, modern, and the doctor is highly qualified, he will be able to detect a fetal egg at 4-4, 5 obstetric weeks of pregnancy. But more often with the help of ultrasound, an ectopic pregnancy can be detected at 5-6 weeks.

The examination is combined with a blood test for the hCG hormone. If it is present in the blood, but there is no ovum in the uterus, this is a sign of ectopic implantation. Even if the diagnosis remains in doubt, laparoscopic surgery is indicated. Only this procedure allows you to say with a 100% guarantee whether there is such a pathology.

How to recognize pathology?

Many women are interested in whether or not the test will show an ectopic pregnancy. It is necessary to consider the main signs of such a deviation. The sooner a woman realizes that the fetal egg was implanted in the wrong place for this, the less will be the consequences for her body.

It is worth considering that the symptoms in the pathological development of the process are almost the same as in the normal onset of pregnancy. This makes diagnosis difficult. Do menses comeectopic pregnancy? With this development of events, there is a delay in menstruation. This is due to hormonal changes in the body, which is also determined during ectopic implantation of a fertilized egg. But in this case, bloody spotting from the vagina may be observed. Such a symptom should also alert during normal pregnancy.

Slight brownish or reddish discharge due to small hemorrhage. It occurs during the implantation of a fertilized egg in the fallopian tube.

How to find out about an ectopic pregnancy? There are several signs that distinguish pathology from the norm. There are cases when, with ectopic implantation of the egg, menstruation does occur. This should alert, become a reason for undergoing a comprehensive examination. Menstruation is accompanied by a slight discharge. In an ectopic pregnancy, periods are different from normal.

Another symptom is pain in the lower abdomen. They are determined on the one hand, from the side where the egg is fixed in the fallopian tube. Discomfort occurs periodically. The pains are most often pulling, increasing over time.

It is worth remembering that the first symptoms appear only 5-8 weeks after the onset of the last menstruation. Up to this point, most often a woman does not feel any discomfort.

Test

How to rule out an ectopic pregnancy without ultrasound? This is a rather complicated procedure, which has many nuances. Even ultrasound does not always confirm with100% guarantee of such a pathology. But still, a pregnancy test can be informative.

So, you need to consider how such a diagnostic tool is used at home. There are many pregnancy tests on the market. They can be inkjet or made in the form of test strips. They respond to the presence of the hCG hormone in the body. From the very first day, it is produced by a fetal egg, joining the uterus or fallopian tube.

Test sensitivity may vary. It is necessary to choose the appropriate variety in accordance with the day of the cycle. There are several recommendations for choosing a test:

• Ovulation occurred 7-10 days ago, there is no delay in menstruation yet. To check if pregnancy has occurred at this time, you need to purchase a high-quality inkjet or electronic test. It should have the highest sensitivity (10 mIU/mL).
• Determined delay 1-5 days. In addition to the electronic and inkjet versions, a test cassette is suitable. If the result is negative, you need to test again in a week. If menstruation begins, which is quite abundant, there is no pregnancy.
• If the delay is 7-14 days, you can buy the simplest test with a sensitivity of 20-25 mIU / ml. It can even be just a paper strip with a reagent applied to its surface. At this stage of pregnancy, the probability of receiving a false negative response is minimal.

When properly applied, the test will be accurate with a 90% chance. You must carefully follow the instructions. You need to test in the morning. It is advisable not to go to the toilet at night. The more concentrated the urine, the more reliable the test result.

Even if the second line is pale, it indicates the onset of pregnancy. If the test is positive, you should consult a gynecologist as soon as possible. The doctor must be informed if the second strip was pale, barely noticeable. This may indicate an ectopic pregnancy. On the test, a strip with low intensity indicates a low concentration of hCG in the urine. This situation requires additional laboratory research.

Pale test strip

Home diagnostic methods do not provide reliable information about the site of egg implantation. Only a laboratory examination gives an accurate result of hCG. During an ectopic pregnancy, this hormone is produced more slowly than usual. On the test, this situation is reflected precisely by the appearance of a weak second strip.

Some women in this case think that such a result indicates an expired reagent. But it's not. If the reagent is expired, the first test strip will not appear. Even a slight manifestation of the second strip indicates the presence of the hCG hormone in the body. The reason for getting a weak second line may be:

• You drank a lot of liquid before the test.
• The test was taken too soon. This situation is most often determined during home diagnostics before the delay of menstruation. At this time, the level of hCG is only increasing, it is still not high enough.
• Diagnosisshows ectopic pregnancy.

Many women wonder if the test will show an ectopic pregnancy or not. It is worth remembering that such a condition has all the symptoms, as with uterine implantation of the fetal egg. This produces hCG. But due to the slow process of fixation and growth of the fetal egg, the concentration of the hormone grows more slowly. In the fallopian tube there are no suitable conditions for the proper development of the embryo. Therefore, its growth is slower.

This feature is taken into account when determining an ectopic pregnancy. If you test a few days later, the second line will become clear with normal egg implantation. If the pregnancy is ectopic, the result will remain the same. The second strip will be pale. But the danger of this technique is that you need to wait several days to re-test. Delay in such a situation is unacceptable. In case of improper egg implantation, you need to act quickly.

Features of using the test

Considering how to determine an ectopic pregnancy at home, several nuances should be noted. So, when using tests, you need to choose their variety correctly. Not every test shows a faint second line. But it is this symptom that is considered the main one in such a diagnosis.

The second strip, as you know, with ectopic implantation of the egg remains pale. It doesn't brighten up over time like a normal pregnancy should.

If a sensitive test was chosen for testing, capable of detecting evena very small amount of hCG in the urine, then the second strip will be pale at the first check before the delay. Over time, its intensity will increase. But at the same time, it still will not become as bright as the control line. This feature is typical for inkjet tests with high sensitivity.

When purchasing an electronic test, it is impossible to visually assess the brightness of the test strip. In this case, even with a slight concentration of hCG in the urine, the device will give a positive result. The display will show the answer "+" or "PREGNANT". Therefore, women who are at risk should avoid electronic tests. They cannot be informative when an ectopic pregnancy occurs. If the first test was made with such a device, the second test should be performed immediately after the delay. To do this, use an inkjet or test strip. If the second line is pale, an urgent additional diagnosis is needed.

Special test

Today, special devices are on sale that can detect improper implantation of a fertilized egg. This is one of the latest achievements of science in the field of gynecology. The ectopic pregnancy test is 90% accurate.

So, one of the most popular tests is Inexscreen. It is able to determine not only the presence of hCG, but also provide extensive information about it. The principle of this technique is to determine the two isomorphic forms of this hormone.

In a normal pregnancy, the amount of gonadotropin should containmodified isomorph about 10%. If the implantation occurred in an inappropriate place for this, the amount of this substance will be less. This is a reliable criterion that allows you to determine with high certainty the type of implantation of a fertilized egg.

Considering ways to exclude ectopic pregnancy, this method should be considered as the most reliable. In this case, it is not necessary to evaluate whether the strip is pale on the test. The unique technique allows you to check between 4 and 5 obstetric weeks of pregnancy. Following the manufacturer's instructions, pathology can be confirmed or ruled out.

How long does it take to make a diagnosis

Knowing how to exclude an ectopic pregnancy, you should understand that there is not so much time to make the correct diagnosis. But a test taken too early will also be unreliable. You need to understand how to approach the diagnosis correctly if there is a possibility of pathology.

Of course, you can't delay going to the gynecologist. The fallopian tube may rupture suddenly. In this case, surgical intervention is indicated.

It is important to monitor your well-being. If there are characteristic symptoms, spotting, you need to see a doctor. It is also recommended to do some tests. If it is not possible to purchase a special device for diagnostics, their usual varieties are used. The test is carried out on the first day of delay, and then after 5 and 10 days.

Whenthe appearance of a pale second strip, the intensity of which does not change significantly, you need to sign up for an ultrasound scan. The doctor must find the fertilized egg in the uterus. If it is not here, operation is shown.

Diagnosis of such a pathology is complicated by the fact that it is possible to find a fetal egg using ultrasound or other diagnostic method no earlier than 2-4 weeks after ovulation. At the same time, according to statistics, rupture of the fallopian tube occurs most often at 4-6 weeks. Sometimes it happens later. Therefore, it is impossible to postpone going to the doctor.

Treatment

Knowing how to exclude an ectopic pregnancy, you need to pay attention to the approach to treating pathology. If it was diagnosed in a timely manner, this greatly increases the chances of having children in the future. In this case, the fallopian tube is preserved. The patient is indicated for laparoscopic surgery.

This procedure is the safest. The surgeon will remove the fetal egg using special equipment without damaging the fallopian tube. The recovery period lasts 6 months. After that, the woman can plan pregnancy again.

When ruptured, part of the fallopian tube is removed. In this case, the operation will be more traumatic. The chance of getting pregnant in this case is reduced. If both fallopian tubes are affected, fertilization is possible only with the help of artificial methods, for example, IVF. Therefore, it is extremely important to determine the development of pathology in time.

Early diagnosis allows in some cases to avoid surgery altogether. womanprescribed to take substances such as mifepristone or methotrexate. Pregnancy interrupted by medication does not leave serious consequences for the body. This is the best option that avoids trauma to the fallopian tube.