A dedicated ectopic pregnancy team leads to an improvement in patients' management

Introduction: The aim of the study is to determine whether a dedicated ectopic pregnancy team improves the management of haemodynamically stable patients with suspected ectopic pregnancy who do not require immediate life-saving surgery. Methods: A non-randomized population based study involving 210 patients admitted with a suspected ectopic pregnancy over a 2-year period in a university teaching hospital in the UK, was carried out to compare the management of those women before and after the introduction of the ectopic pregnancy team. Results: Following the introduction of an ectopic pregnancy team, there were fewer laparotomies performed, fewer negative diagnostic laparoscopies, a reduced overall surgical intervention rate, and a reduced duration of hospital stay. Although, it was difficult to quantify the extent of improvement of training, yet there were fewer operations performed out-of-hours, more continuity of care, more learning opportunities and acquisition of laparoscopic skills of junior staff. Conclusions: The introduction of an ectopic pregnancy team led to an improvement in the management of patients with suspected ectopic pregnancies. Efforts aiming at setting up such a specialized team and its implementation in day-to-day clinical practice should be considered in hospitals where the mainstay of treatment remains laparotomy. © 2006 Springer-Verlag.