Skip to main content
Top
Published in:

Open Access 01-12-2024 | Ectopic Pregnancy | Research

Surgical treatment of fallopian tubal pregnancy and interstitial pregnancy has no differential effect on intrauterine pregnancy after in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer

Authors: Mingxiang Zheng, Yangqin Peng, Pei Cai, Qingwen He, Gong Fei, Chen Hui, Yuyao Mao, Xihong Li, Yan Ouyang

Published in: BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth | Issue 1/2024

Login to get access

Abstract

Background

Due to the specific nature of interstitial pregnancy (IP), there are significant risks to both the mother and the foetus in women with a heterotopic interstitial pregnancy (HIP). IP alone has been analysed as a site-specific ectopic pregnancy (EP) in previous studies; however, according to the latest European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology criteria, IP is classified as a tubal pregnancy. If IP can be classified as a tubal pregnancy, then there is no difference in the effects of these two methods on intrauterine pregnancies (IUPs). Under the premise of timely surgery, disposing of IPs and tubal pregnancy (excluding IPs) should also have no differential effect on IUPs.

Methods

Patients with heterotopic fallopian tubal pregnancy (HP-tube) and HIP seen at our hospital from January 2005 to December 2020 were included. All included patients were diagnosed by transvaginal sonography (TVS), and EPs were confirmed by surgery and pathological analysis. The IUP outcomes after surgical treatment of the EPs were compared between the HP-tube group (n = 464) and the HIP group (n = 206). The outcomes of IUPs were evaluated in patients with HIP who underwent either laparoscopy (169 cases) or laparotomy (36 cases).

Results

There was no significant difference in postoperative miscarriage (6.90% vs. 6.80%, odds ratio (OR) = 1.859, 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.807–4.279), p = 0.145); early spontaneous miscarriage (19.61% vs. 18.93%, OR = 0.788, 95% CI (0.495–1.255), p = 0.316); or late miscarriage (0.43% vs. 0.49%, OR = 0.823, 95% CI (0.070–9.661), p = 0.877) between the HP-tube group and the HIP group. There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of preterm birth (7.33% vs. 6.80%, OR = 1.044, 95% CI (0.509–2.139), p = 0.907), live birth rate (71.60% vs. 73.30%, OR = 1.010, 95% CI (0.670–1.530), p = 0.980), or perinatal mortality rate (2.00% vs. 0.65%, OR = 0.580, 95% CI (0.030–3.590), p = 0.620). Compared to laparotomy for HIPs, laparoscopic treatment was associated with similar rates of postoperative miscarriage (5.33% vs. 13.90%, p = 0.076), live birth rate (72.80% vs. 75.00%, p = 0.948), caesarean Sect. (83.90% vs. 77.80%, p = 0.414).

Conclusions

After early diagnosis and treatment of EPs, patients in the HP-tube and HIP groups achieved comparable outcomes. Laparotomy and laparoscopy for treating HIPs yielded similar pregnancy outcomes.

Literature
  1. Bright DA, Gaupp FB: Heterotopic pregnancy: a reevaluation. J Am Board Fam Pract. 1990;3(2):125–28.PubMed
  2. Fernandez H, Gervaise A: Ectopic pregnancies after infertility treatment: modern diagnosis and therapeutic strategy. Hum Reprod Update. 2004;10(6):503–13. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1093/​humupd/​dmh043.
  3. Xiao HM, Gong F, Mao ZH, Zhang H, Lu GX. Analysis of 92 ectopic pregnancy patients after in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer. Zhong nan da xue xue bao. Yi xue ban= Journal of Central South University. Medi Sci. 2006;31(4):584–7.
  4. Talbot K, Simpson R, Price N, Jackson SR. Heterotopic pregnancy. J Obstet Gynaecol. 2011;31(1):7–12. https://​doi.​org/​10.​3109/​01443615.​2010.​522749.View ArticlePubMed
  5. Jeon JH, Hwang YI, Shin IH, Park CW, Yang KM, Kim HO. The risk factors and pregnancy outcomes of 48 cases of heterotopic pregnancy from a single center. J Korean Med Sci. 2016;31(7):1094–99. https://​doi.​org/​10.​3346/​jkms.​2016.​31.​7.​1094.
  6. Lozeau AM, Potter B. Diagnosis and management of ectopic pregnancy. Am Fam Physician. 2005;72(9):1707–14.
  7. Shaw JL, Diamandis EP, Horne AW, Barnhart K, Bourne T, Messinis IE. Ectopic pregnancy. Clin Chem. 2012;58(9):1278–85. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1373/​clinchem.​2012.​184168.
  8. Khan Z, Lindheim SR. In pursuit of understanding interstitial pregnancies: a rare yet high-risk ectopic pregnancy. Fertil Steril 2019;112(2):246–47. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/​j.​fertnstert.​2019.​05.​027.
  9. Parker VL, Srinivas M. Non-tubal ectopic pregnancy. Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2016;294(1):19–27. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1007/​s00404-016-4069-y.View ArticlePubMed
  10. Gao B, Cheng C, Pan Q, Johnson G, Qin X, Xu D. Laparoscopic strategy for heterotopic interstitial pregnancy following assisted reproductive techniques. JSLS. 2019;23(2). https://​doi.​org/​10.​4293/​JSLS.​2018.​00109.
  11. Kwon B, Kang S, Lee HJ, Kim M, Lee YH, Im J, Moon MJ, Ahn EH, Kim YR. Non-surgical management and obstetric outcomes of heterotopic interstitial pregnancies. Minimally Invasive Therapy & Allied Technologies. 2020;29(6):375–9. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1080/​13645706.​2019.​1653924.
  12. Li X, Cai P, Ouyang Y, Gong F. Heterotopic interstitial pregnancy: early ultrasound diagnosis of 179 Cases After In Vitro Fertilization-Embryo Transfer. J Ultrasound Med. 2023;42(4):915–22. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1002/​jum.​16103.
  13. Kirk E, Ankum P, Jakab A, Le Clef N, Ludwin A, Small R, Tellum T, Töyli M, Van den Bosch T, Jurkovic D. Terminology for describing normally sited and ectopic pregnancies on ultrasound: ESHRE recommendations for good practice. Hum Reprod Open. 2020;(4):hoaa055. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1093/​hropen/​hoaa055.
  14. Lv S, Wang Z, Liu H, Peng J, Song J, Liu W, Yan L. Management strategies of heterotopic pregnancy following in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer. Taiwan J Obstet Gynecol. 2020;59(1):67–72. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/​j.​tjog.​2019.​11.​010.
  15. Soriano D, Vicus D, Schonman R, Mashiach R, Shashar-Levkovitz D, Schiff E, Seidman DS, Goldenberg M. Long-term outcome after laparoscopic treatment of heterotopic pregnancy: 19 cases. J Minim Invasive Gynecol. 2010;17(3):321–4. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/​j.​jmig.​2010.​01.​016.
  16. Eom JM, Choi JS, Ko JH, Lee JH, Park SH, Hong JH, Hur CY. Surgical and obstetric outcomes of laparoscopic management for women with heterotopic pregnancy. J Obstet Gynaecol Res. 2013;39(12):1580–6. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1111/​jog.​12106.
  17. Li X, Ouyang Y, Yi Y, Lin G, Lu G, Gong F. Pregnancy outcomes of women with a congenital unicornuate uterus after IVF–embryo transfer. Reprod Biomed Online. 2017;35(5):583–91. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/​j.​rbmo.​2017.​07.​015.
  18. Cai S, Li J, Zeng S, Hu L, Peng Y, Tang S, Zeng S, Chu C, Gong F, Lin G, Hocher B. Impact of vitamin D on human embryo implantation—a prospective cohort study in women undergoing fresh embryo transfer. Fertil Steril. 2021;115(3):655–64. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/​j.​fertnstert.​2020.​09.​005.
  19. Puissant F, Van Rysselberge M, Barlow P, Deweze J, Leroy F. Embryo scoring as a prognostic tool in IVF treatment. Hum Reprod. 1987;2(8):705–8. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1093/​oxfordjournals.​humrep.​a136618.
  20. Wetzels AM, Bastiaans BA, Hendriks JC, Goverde HJ, Punt-van der Zalm AP, Verbeet JG, Braat DD. The effects of co-culture with human fibroblasts on human embryo development in vitro and implantation. Hum Reprod. 1998;13(5):1325–30. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1093/​humrep/​13.​5.​1325.
  21. Gardner DK, Lane M, Stevens J, Schlenker T, Schoolcraft WB. Blastocyst score affects implantation and pregnancy outcome: towards a single blastocyst transfer. Fertil Steril. 2000;73(6):1155–8. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/​s0015-0282(00)00518-5.
  22. Timor-Tritsch IE, Monteagudo A, Matera C, Veit CR. Sonographic evolution of cornual pregnancies treated without surgery. Obstet Gynecol. 1992;79(6):1044–9.
  23. Ackerman TE, Levi CS, Dashefsky SM, Holt SC, Lindsay DJ. Interstitial line: sonographic finding in interstitial (cornual) ectopic pregnancy. Radiology. 1993;189(1):83–7. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1148/​radiology.​189.​1.​8372223.
  24. Votino A, Van den Bosch T, Installé AJ, Van Schoubroeck D, Kaijser J, Kacem Y, De Moor B, Van Pachterbeke C, Timmerman D. Optimizing the ultrasound visualization of the endometrial-myometrial junction (EMJ). Facts Views Vis Obgyn. 2015;7(1):60–63.
  25. Brosens JJ, Pijnenborg R, Brosens IA. The myometrial junctional zone spiral arteries in normal and abnormal pregnancies: a review of the literature. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2002;187(5):1416–23. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1067/​mob.​2002.​127305
  26. Melendez J, Paraskevopolou SM, Foo X, Yoong W. Heterotopic pregnancy: tubal ectopic pregnancy with a viable IVF intrauterine pregnancy. J Obstet Gynaecol. 2010;30(7):742–3. https://​doi.​org/​10.​3109/​01443615.​2010.​501414.
  27. Siow A, Ng S. Laparoscopic management of 4 cases of recurrent cornual ectopic pregnancy and review of literature. J Minim Invasive Gynecol. 2011;18(3):296–302. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/​j.​jmig.​2011.​02.​002.
  28. Li JB, Kong LZ, Yang JB, Niu G, Fan L, Huang JZ, Chen SQ. Management of heterotopic pregnancy: experience from 1 tertiary medical center. Medicine. 2016;95(5):e2570. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1097/​MD.​0000000000002570​.View Article
  29. Zegers-Hochschild F, Adamson GD, de Mouzon J, Ishihara O, Mansour R, Nygren K, Sullivan E, van der Poel S. The international committee for monitoring assisted reproductive technology (ICMART) and the world health organization (WHO) revised glossary on ART terminology, 2009. Hum Reprod. 2009;24(11):2683–7. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/​j.​fertnstert.​2009.​09.​009.
  30. Cai P, Ouyang Y, Gong F, Li X. Pregnancy outcomes of dichorionic triamniotic triplet pregnancies after in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer: multifoetal pregnancy reduction versus expectant management. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2020;20:1–9. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1186/​s12884-020-2815-4.View ArticlePubMedPubMed Central
  31. Habana A, Dokras A, Giraldo JL, Jones EE. Cornual heterotopic pregnancy: contemporary management options. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2000;182(5):1264–70. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1067/​mob.​2000.​103620.View ArticlePubMed
  32. Chin HY, Chen FP, Wang CJ, Shui LT, Liu YH, Soong YK. Heterotopic pregnancy after in vitro fertilization–embryo transfer. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2004;86(3):411–6. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/​j.​ijgo.​2004.​05.​011.
  33. Li XH, Ouyang Y, Lu GX. Value of transvaginal sonography in diagnosing heterotopic pregnancy after in‐vitro fertilization with embryo transfer. Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol. 2013;41(5):563–9. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1002/​uog.​12341.
  34. Zhu S, Fan Y, Lan L, Deng T, Zhang Q. Heterotopic pregnancy secondary to in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer: risk factors and pregnancy outcomes. Front Med. 2022;9:864560. https://​doi.​org/​10.​3389/​fmed.​2022.​864560.
  35. Ouyang Y, Chen H, Lin G, Xiang S, Qin J, Gong F, Li X. Heterotopic cesarean scar pregnancy: an analysis of 20 cases following in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer. J Ultrasound Med. 2021;40(10):2239–49. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1002/​jum.​15610.
  36. Malinowski A, Bates SK. Semantics and pitfalls in the diagnosis of cornual/interstitial pregnancy. Fertil Steril. 2006;86(6):1764–e11. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/​j.​fertnstert.​2006.​03.​073.
  37. Lee MH, Im SY, Kim MK, Shin SY, Park WI. Comparison of laparoscopic cornual resection and cornuotomy for interstitial pregnancy. J Minim Invasive Gynecol. 2017;24(3):397–401. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/​j.​jmig.​2016.​11.​016.
  38. Jiang LY, Wang PH. Interstitial pregnancy: cornuostomy or wedge resection? J Chin Med Assoc. 2019;82(3):167–8. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1097/​JCMA.​0000000000000072​.
  39. Watanabe T, Watanabe Z, Watanabe T, Fujimoto K, Sasaki E. Laparoscopic cornuotomy for interstitial pregnancy and postoperative course. J Obstet Gynaecol Res. 2014;40(8):1983–8. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1111/​jog.​12422.
  40. Chen X, Chen F, Zhu W, Mao L, Lv P, Zhu Y. Treatment effects of laparoscopy versus laparotomy on heterotopic pregnancy after in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2023;163(2):689–96. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1002/​ijgo.​14919.
Metadata
Title
Surgical treatment of fallopian tubal pregnancy and interstitial pregnancy has no differential effect on intrauterine pregnancy after in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer
Authors
Mingxiang Zheng
Yangqin Peng
Pei Cai
Qingwen He
Gong Fei
Chen Hui
Yuyao Mao
Xihong Li
Yan Ouyang
Publication date
01-12-2024
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth / Issue 1/2024
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2393
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-024-06943-9

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on menopause

Menopause can have a significant impact on the body, with effects ranging beyond the endocrine and reproductive systems. Learn about the broader systemic effects of menopause, so you can help patients in your clinics through the transition.   

Prof. Martha Hickey
Dr. Claudia Barth
Dr. Samar El Khoudary
Developed by: Springer Medicine
Watch now