HOW MECHANICAL TOOL WORK

By the time a woman with a ruptured ectopic pregnancy arrives at the hospital of physician’s office, she
may already be in severe shock, as evidenced by rapid, thready pulse, rapid respirations, and falling
blood pressure. Leukocytosis may be present, not from infection but from trauma. Temperature is
usually normal. A transvaginal sonogram will demonstrate the ruptured tube and blood collecting in the
peritoneum. Either a falling hCG or serum progesterone suggests that pregnancy has ended. If the
diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy is in doubt, a physician may insert a needle through the postvaginal
fornix into the cul-de-sac under sterile conditions to see whether blood can be aspirated. A laparoscopy
or culdoscopy can be used to visualize the uterine tube if the symptoms alone do not reveal a clear
picture of what has happened. However, sonography alone usually reveals a clear-cut diagnostic picture.

If a woman waits before seeking help, gradually her abdomen becomes rigid from peritoneal irritation.
Her umbilicus may develop a bluish tinge (Cullen’s Sign). A woman may have continuing extensive or dull
vaginal and abdominal pain; movement on the cervix on pelvic examination my cause excruciating pain.
There may be pain in her shoulders from blood in the peritoneal cavity causing irritation to the phrenic
nerve. A tender mass is usually palpable in Douglas’ cul-de-sac on vaginal examination.

Therapeutic Management

Although some ectopic pregnancies spontaneously end and then reab

(2 to 8 weeks after a missed menstrual period), the zygote grows large enough to rupture the slender
uterine tube or the trophoblast cells break through the narrow base. Tearing and destruction of the
blood vessels in the tube result. The extent of the bleeding that occurs depends on the number and size
of the ruptured vessels. If implantation is in the interstitial portion of the tube (where the tube joins the
uterus), the rupture can cause severe intraperitoneal bleeding. Fortunately, the incidence of tubal
pregnancies is highest in the ampullar area (the distal third), where the blood vessels are smaller and
profuse hemorrhage is less likely. However, continued bleeding from this area may in time result in a
large amount of blood loss. Therefore, a ruptured ectopic pregnancy is serious regardless of the site of
implantation.

A woman usually expediencies a sharp, stabbing pain in one of her lower abdominal quadrants at the
time of the rupture, followed by scan vaginal spotting. With placental dislodgement, progesterone
secretion stops and the uterine decidua begins to slough, causing additional bleeding. The amount of
bleeding evident with a ruptured ectopic pregnancy often does not reveal the actual amount present,
however, because the products o conception from the ruptured tube and the accompanying blood may
be expelled into the pelvic cavity rather than into the uterus. Therefore, this blood does not reach the
vagina to become evident. If internal bleeding progresses to acute hemorrhage, a woman may
experience lightheadedness and rapid pulse, signs of shock.
When helping determine the possibility of an ectopic pregnancy, ask a woman whether she has pain or
vaginal bleeding. Any woman with sharp abdominal pain and vaginal spotting needs to be evaluated by
her health care provider to rule out the possibility of ectopic pregnancy. Occasionally, a woman will
move suddenly and move and pull one of her round ligaments, the anterior uterine supports. This can
cause a sharp, but momentarily and innocent, lower quadrant pain. However, it would be rare for this
phenomenon to be reported in connection with vaginal spotting.

By the time a woman with a ruptured ectopic pregnancy arrives at the hospital of physician’s office, she
may already be in severe shock, as evidenced by rapid, thready pulse, rapid respirations, and falling
blood pressure. Leukocytosis may be present, not from infection but from trauma. Temperature is
usually normal. A transvaginal sonogram will demonstrate the ruptured tube and blood collecting in the
peritoneum. Either a falling hCG or serum progesterone suggests that pregnancy has ended. If the
diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy is in doubt, a physician may insert a needle through the postvaginal
fornix into the cul-de-sac under sterile conditions to see whether blood can be aspirated. A laparoscopy
or culdoscopy can be used to visualize the uterine tube if the symptoms alone do not reveal a clear
picture of what has happened. However, sonography alone usually reveals a clear-cut diagnostic picture.

If a woman waits before seeking help, gradually her abdomen becomes rigid from peritoneal irritation.
Her umbilicus may develop a bluish tinge (Cullen’s Sign). A woman may have continuing extensive or dull
vaginal and abdominal pain; movement on the cervix on pelvic examination my cause excruciating pain.
There may be pain in her shoulders from blood in the peritoneal cavity causing irritation to the phrenic
nerve. A tender mass is usually palpable in Douglas’ cul-de-sac on vaginal examination.

Therapeutic Management