Buckley et al reported a prediction model for ectopic pregnancy. This can help triage the patient for care. The authors are from the Naval Medical Center in San Diego.
Patient selection: woman of child-bearing age in the Emergency Department with first-trimester abdominal pain or vaginal bleeding
Criteria for high risk - one or both of the following:
(1) presence of abdominal peritoneal signs
(2) presence of unequivocal cervical motion tenderness
Criteria for low risk - one or more of the following:
(1) fetal heart tones present
(2) presence of tissue extruding from an open cervical os
(3) absence of abdominal pain (exception: suprapubic mid-line menstrual-like cramping) AND absence of tenderness on cervical motion AND absence of tenderness on uterine and adnexal palpation
A patient not classified as high or low risk is classified as intermediate risk.
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