Endometrial stripe thickness in tubal and intrauterine pregnancies.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate endometrial stripe thickness (EST) among patients with tubal pregnancy (TP) and intrauterine pregnancy (IUP).

DESIGN

Historical cohort.

SETTING

City hospital.

PATIENT(S): Ninety-four women suspected to have TP.

INTERVENTION(S): Serum betaHCG and sonographic EST measurements.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Comparison of age, gestational age (GA), EST, and log beta HCG.

RESULT(S): The two groups of women, 65 with TP and 29 with IUP, had similar mean ages (+/-SD) of 28.6 +/- 5.7 and 28.6 +/- 6.1, respectively. The median values of GA in the 2 groups were similar, 46.6 and 44.6 d, respectively. The mean values for EST (+/-SD), adjusted for GA, were significantly different: 9.9 +/- 5.9 mm in the TP group and 12.6 +/- 5.3 mm in the IUP group. The mean values (+/-SD) of log beta HCG in the 2 groups also differed significantly: 6.90 +/- 1.29 and 7.52 +/- 0.97, respectively. No correlation was found between EST and GA or log beta HCG within either group.

CONCLUSION(S): The mean EST in women with TP was significantly smaller than in women with IUP. The wide range of EST values and their overlap precludes the utilization of EST as a single feature in the diagnosis of a tubal pregnancy.