Assessment of early decline in the percentage of β-hCG values between days 0 and 4 after methotrexate therapy in ectopic pregnancy for the prediction of treatment success [Ektopik gebelikte uygulanan metotreksat tedavisinden sonra 0 ile 4. günler arasi{dotless}nda β-hCG deǧerlerindeki yüzde düşüşlerinin tedavi başari{dotless}si{dotless}ni{dotless} belirlemedeki yeri]

Objective: to evaluate percentage changes in serum beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hcg) values between days 0-1,0-4 and 0-7 as an indicator of methotrexate therapy success in extra-uterine pregnancies. material and methods: women with ectopic pregnancy treated with single-dose methotrexate therapy between january 2011 and august 2012 were assessed. recorded data were reviewed electronically from patient files. all women (n=93) with an ectopic pregnancy treated medically with intramuscular methotrexate (50 mg/m2) were included. the percentage changes in serum β-hcg levels from day 0 to 1,day 0 to 4 and day 0 to 7 were calculated for each case. results: the median β-hcg values decreased between days 0 and 4 by 55.8%,and 89.6% of these cases were treatment successes. the median initial serum β-hcg values were lower in women with successful treatment,but this was not statistically significant (p=0.11). conclusion: a decline in serum β-hcg values between days 0 and 4 appears to be the best predictor. it would be beneficial to determine whether a woman with an ectopic pregnancy treated with singledose methotrexate administration will be treated successfully. © 2013 by the turkish-german gynecological education and research foundation.