title: The use of ultrasonography in the diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy.
abstract: Ultrasonography was used to examine 196 cases of suspected ectopic pregnancy. The final diagnosis was established in 185 cases by means of surgical intervention or follow-up. The actual number of ectopic pregnancies was found to be 42, of which 30 (71%) had been correctly diagnosed by ultrasound. There was a false negative rate of 29%. Of the group of 185 patients followed up, a false positive diagnosis had been made in six cases (4.2%). On the basis of these results, we conclude that, while ultrasonography offers significant help when a non-invasive diagnostic method for ectopic is desired, it is not yet, in spite of the present level of technical development, a completely reliable method in such cases.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011271:Pregnancy, Ectopic / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014463:Ultrasonography