Técnicas de diagnóstico y errores más frecuentes en los estudios por imagen del embarazo ectópico

Abstract

Ectopic pregnancy is currently considered a pathology that has a fatal haemodynamic outcome if not detected in time, its incidence is complex to estimate; this is because most cases in Ecuador are early failures in patients with low education and difficult access to the health system, which end in spontaneous abortions and do not lead to delivery or hospitalization. However, the timely detection of an ectopic gestation by means of imaging assessment is the basis for optimal management of these patients; for this reason, the focus of this study is for the primary care physician to base his or her criteria on the most feasible imaging study and to recognise the basic imaging signs in order to avoid diagnostic errors. OBJECTIVE: Describe the most frequent diagnostic techniques and errors in imaging studies of ectopic pregnancy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The bibliographic information was based on a retrospective investigation of 23 articles with scientific evidence and high impact at a global level during the last five years, obtained from the following databases: UPTODATE, Pubmed, Elsevier, Google Scholar and Scielo. CONCLUSIONS: Transvaginal ultrasound is considered the method of choice for early localization of ectopic pregnancy. Every primary health care physician should recognise the main basic imaging signs of an extrauterine pregnancy to avoid errors in its diagnosis.