International Journal of Basic & Clinical Pharmacology | December 2021 | Vol 10 | Issue 12 Page 1410
International Journal of Basic & Clinical Pharmacology
Olaleye AA et al. Int J Basic Clin Pharmacol. 2021 Dec;10(12):1410-1413
http://www.ijbcp.com
pISSN 2319-2003 | eISSN 2279-0780
Case Report
Heterotropic pregnancy: a common masquerade than ever thought?
Ayodele A. Olaleye*, Boniface N. Ejikeme, Eziaha E. Okeke, Nwabunike E. S. Ede,
Bartholomew I. Olinya, Charles N. Edene, John C. Obasi,
Emmanuel O. Onyekelu, Amuchechukwu V. Nwafor
INTRODUCTION
Heterotopic pregnancy is the coexistence of living or
dead intrauterine pregnancy, single or multiple, and
extra-uterine pregnancy located in the oviduct, ovary,
uterine cornua, cervix or rarely peritoneal cavity.
1
More
than 90% of ectopic pregnancies are localized in the
fallopian tubes. Heterotropic pregnancy is relatively
uncommon in spontaneous conception with 1 in 30,000
cases reported, the incidence of heterotopic pregnancy
increases to 1 in 3900 when conception is enhanced with
various assisted reproduction techniques (ART) including
in vitro fertilization, super ovulation, and intrauterine
insemination.
2,3
Heterotropic pregnancy has also been
reported with clomiphene citrate ovulation induction.
4
However, with rising incidence of undiagnosed or poorly
treated pelvic inflammatory disease in low resource
settings, the incidence of heterotropic pregnancy may be
on the rise. Chlamydia infections are characterized by a
high proportion of asymptomatic infections (up to 70% in
women) and has been associated with increased incidence
of pelvic inflammatory disease and increase risk of
ectopic pregnancy.
5,6
The risk factors for heterotropic pregnancy includes,
assisted reproductive technology, tubal damage (by
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2319-2003.ijbcp20214508
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki
Received: 28 September 2021
Revised: 23 October 2021
Accepted: 29 October 2021
*Correspondence:
Dr. Ayodele A. Olaleye,
Email: ayodele_olaleye@yahoo.com
Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under
the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
ABSTRACT
Heterotopic pregnancy, coexistence of living or dead intrauterine pregnancy, single or multiple, with extra-uterine
pregnancy located in the oviduct, ovary, uterine cornua, cervix or rarely peritoneal cavity. Heterotropic pregnancy is
relatively uncommon in spontaneous conception with 1 in 30,000 cases reported, the incidence of heterotopic
pregnancy increases to 1 in 3900 when conception is enhanced with various assisted reproduction techniques (ART).
It is an ectopic pregnancy coexisting with intrauterine pregnancy. But is the incidence of heterotropic pregnancy
rising? A case was reported from our centre in 2018 by Ejikeme et al, and we have recorded another two cases in the
period of one year. Ectopic pregnancy has been described as a great masquerader, which makes diagnosis and
management of heterotropic pregnancy a dilemma to attending physician. We present a case of an unbooked 26 years
old G4P3+0 who has no family history of multiple gestation and presented at gestational age of 8 weeks and 5 days
with 2 days history of abdominal pain and vaginal bleeding and 2 hours history of loss of consciousness. She later had
exploratory laparotomy with left salpingectomy and manual vacuum aspiration of Retained Products of Conception
with good outcome. In conclusion, spontaneous heterotropic pregnancy is a rare occurrence, however with advent of
artificial reproductive technology and increase incidence of pelvic inflammatory disease, the incidence could be
higher than earlier suspected.
Keywords: Intra-uterine, Extra-uterine, Ectopic, Pregnancy, Heterotropic, Pelvic inflammatory disease