Progesterone and hCG in expectant management success in tubal ectopic pregnancy: retrospective single-centre cohort study

Lower progesterone levels are associated with successful expectant management of tubal ectopic pregnancies, but hCG remains the more useful test.

Summary and findings

This study assessed the association between serum progesterone (P4) levels and management outcomes in women with tubal ectopic pregnancies (TEP). A total of 91 cases were analyzed, revealing that 23% (n=21) successfully completed expectant management. Lower P4 concentrations were significantly associated with successful management outcomes compared to those requiring surgical or medical intervention.

Abstract

Background Early access to pregnancy assessment units now detects many tubal ectopic pregnancies (TEP) at a stage when they could resolve spontaneously, creating a management dilemma. Methods We performed a hypothesis-generating exploratory analysis in a retrospective study to assess whether serum progesterone (P4) levels in women with TEP are associated with management outcome. Results Ninety-one cases of TEP managed in a single centre over three years were analysed. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to explore serum levels of progesterone (P4), first human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and peak hCG (alone and in combination) in relation with successful completion of expectant management. Decision-tree analysis using first hCG and P4 was additionally performed to explore clinical sequential risk stratification. 23% (n=21) successfully completed expectant management. P4 concentrations in the expectant management group (median 3 nmol/L, IQR 2.00–8.50) were significantly lower than in those requiring surgical or medical management (median 17 nmol/L, IQR 5.75– 29.25; p=0.0002). Area under the ROC curve (AUC) values for P4, log10 first hCG, log10 peak hCG and P4 with log10 first hCG were 0.766, 0.814, 0.811 and 0.835, respectively, for predicting successful expectant management. However, hCG was not significantly outperformed. Nonetheless, Youden optimised thresholds for hCG and P4 are reported, alongside decision-tree analysis that identified sequential first hCG and P4 thresholds associated with successful expectant management. Conclusion Lower P4 levels are associated with successful expectant management of TEP but they do not outperform hCG either alone or as an adjunctive marker. Lay summary Early pregnancy scans now identify many small, symptom-free fallopian tube pregnancies; human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) is a pregnancy hormone that can predict if these pregnancies will resolve naturally but it has its limitations. This study looked at 91 women with a fallopian tube pregnancy. It compared another important hormone called progesterone to see if, when used with hCG, its levels are associated with natural resolution. This study found that hCG was the most useful test, and progesterone did not provide any additional benefit.

Elsewhere in the HCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin) corpus