Uterine artery embolization combined with local infusion of methotrexate and 5-fluorouracil in treating ectopic pregnancy A CONSORT-compliant article

Background: To compare the efficiency and safety of uterine artery embolization (UAE) combined with local infusion of methotrexate (MTX) or MTX and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in the treatment of ectopic pregnancy (EP). Methods: One hundred women with EP were prospectively enrolled from December 2012 to February 2015 and randomly allocated into 2 groups. One group was treated with UAE combined MTX, and the other with UAE combined with MTX and 5-FU. Local MTX was administrated at a dose of 80 to 120 mg, based on the initial beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (beta-HCG) levels, and 5-FU was given intra-arterially at a uniform dose of 0.5 g. Results: Bilateral UAE was successfully performed in all 100 patients, 88 of whom were clinically successfully treated, 45 (91.8%) in the MTX group, and 43 (87.8%) in the MTX+5-FU group; 89% of the patients achieved normalization of beta-HCG below 70,000mIU/mL within 14 to 21 days postoperatively. The time to successful beta-HCG resolution was 26.74 +/- 5.57 days for patients receiving MTX+UAE treatment, and 27.57 +/- 5.08 days for those treated with additional 5-FU. Six patients had subsequent intramuscular injections of MTX and 6 had a unilateral salpingectomy after the treatment failure. Mild immediate side effects accounted for 24.5% in the sole MTX and 58.3% in MTX+5-FU group. Conclusion: A combination of UAE and intrauterine infusion of MTX showed comparable efficiency to UAE combined with a local infusion of MTX and 5-FU in treating EP patients with the intention to preserve fertility.