Chronic ectopic pregnancy. A comparison with acute ectopic pregnancy.

An ectopic tubal pregnancy that undergoes repeated minor ruptures instead of a single episode of rapid bleeding frequently develops into a pelvic hematocele. The hematocele, which contains old blood, clots and gestational tissue, is surrounded by adhesions and is misleadingly called a "chronic" ectopic pregnancy. The term "chronic" describes only the appearance of the pelvic mass and does not necessarily imply chronicity of duration. Its incidence was 28% in our series of 149 ectopic pregnancies. Fifty percent of our patients with chronic ectopic pregnancy had a negative serum beta human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG). This entity has a sonographic appearance distinctly different from acute ectopic pregnancy.