IMR Press / CEOG / Volume 51 / Issue 3 / DOI: 10.31083/j.ceog5103076
Open Access Original Research
Ectopic Pregnancy History as an Independent Factor Associated with Recurring Ectopic Pregnancy in Women with Bilateral Salpingectomies. A Matched-Pair Study of IVF Patients
Mingmei Lin1,2,3,4,†Wanxue Xu5,6,†Mingyu Liang1,2,3,4,†Shuo Yang1,2,3,4Rong Li1,2,3,4,*
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1 Center for Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Third Hospital, 100191 Beijing, China
2 National Clinical Research Center for Obstetrics and Gynecology, 100191 Beijing, China
3 Key Laboratory of Assisted Reproduction, Ministry of Education, Peking University Third Hospital, 100191 Beijing, China
4 Bejing Key Laboratory of Reproductive Endocrinology and Assisted Reproductive Technology, Peking University Third Hospital, 100191 Beijing, China
5 Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, 300052 Tianjin, China
6 Tianjin Key Laboratory of Female Reproductive Health and Eugenics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, 300052 Tianjin, China
*Correspondence: roseli001@sina.com (Rong Li)
These authors contributed equally.
Clin. Exp. Obstet. Gynecol. 2024, 51(3), 76; https://doi.org/10.31083/j.ceog5103076
Submitted: 20 November 2023 | Revised: 25 December 2023 | Accepted: 29 December 2023 | Published: 18 March 2024
Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.
This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Abstract

Background: The incidence of ectopic pregnancy (EP) is purportedly elevated among individuals with a history of EP (referred to as the EP group) compared to those with no previous ectopic pregnancy (non-EP group). Nevertheless, the question of whether an EP history represents an autonomous risk factor for subsequent ectopic pregnancy of in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET) patients remains a subject of debate. Methods: This study is a retrospective cohort study conducted at a single center. A total of sixty-seven patients with a prior ectopic pregnancy (EP) who underwent bilateral salpingectomy were included, and they were age-matched with a control group of 201 patients who did not have a history of EP but underwent bilateral salpingectomy during the period from January 2011 to April 2017. In all cases, laparoscopic salpingectomy was performed, followed by subsequent IVF-ET and frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET) cycles. Results: The cumulative clinical pregnancy rates in the EP group and non-EP group were 65.7% and 73.6%, respectively, demonstrating no significant difference. Likewise, the cumulative live birth rates between the two groups were comparable (50.7% in the EP group vs. 63.6% in the non-EP group, p = 0.2). However, the incidence of ectopic pregnancy was significantly higher in the EP group compared to the non-EP group (15.9% vs. 3.4%, p = 0.003). Subsequent regression analyses revealed a significant association between a history of EP and an elevated risk of ectopic pregnancy. Conclusions: Women with a history of ectopic pregnancy even if they have had bilateral salpingectomies are at a significantly higher risk of subsequent ectopic pregnancies, indicating that a prior ectopic pregnancy is an independent risk factor for this condition, even if fallopian tubes have been removed.

Keywords
bilateral salpingectomy
ectopic pregnancy
assistive reproductive technology
Funding
BYSYZD2023022/Peking University Third Hospital Key clinical projects
2022YFC2702500/National Key Research and Development Program of China
Figures
Fig. 1.
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