The Efficacy and Success Rate of Methotrexate in the Management of Ectopic Pregnancy

Background Ectopic pregnancy is a life-threatening medical condition wherein pregnancy occurs outside the uterus. This study primarily aimed to evaluate the efficacy of methotrexate (MTX) in treating patients diagnosed with early ectopic pregnancy between 2016 and 2021. Second, it aimed to investigate the clinical outcomes of subsequent pregnancies following ectopic pregnancy treatment. Methods A retrospective cohort study was carried out at a tertiary care centre in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The sample for this study comprised 59 patients who were diagnosed with ectopic pregnancy and treated with MTX at King Abdulaziz Medical City, Jeddah, between 2016 and 2021. The data were stored in the Microsoft Office Excel format and analyzed using the SPSS software. Results There were 10 reported cases of ruptured ectopic pregnancy; seven of these underwent surgery, while three were successfully treated conservatively using MTX. Success rates of 55.9% and 93.8% were recorded after administering the first and second dose of MTX, respectively, based on beta-human chorionic gonadotrophin (β-hCG) drop between day 4 and day 7. Among those treated with MTX, 37.3% of the patients reported a successful subsequent pregnancy, of which 54.5% delivered a live, healthy infant and 13.6% had a second ectopic pregnancy. Conclusion MTX proved effective in treating ectopic pregnancy, with a β-hCG drop of more than 15%. Patients who received a second dose of MTX showed a higher drop in β-hCG level, indicating greater success as a cumulative effect. The clinical outcome after MTX treatment of ectopic pregnancy was shown to be significant with a p-value <0.05.