Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Jan 26, 2023; 11(3): 669-676
Published online Jan 26, 2023. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v11.i3.669
Heterotopic pregnancy after assisted reproductive techniques with favorable outcome of the intrauterine pregnancy: A case report
Ya-Nan Wang, Lian-Wen Zheng, Lu-Lu Fu, Ying Xu, Xue-Ying Zhang
Ya-Nan Wang, Lian-Wen Zheng, Lu-Lu Fu, Ying Xu, Xue-Ying Zhang, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Reproductive Medical Center, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130000, Jilin Province, China
Author contributions: Zhang XY, Wang YN designed the study and collected data; Xu Y wrote the manuscript; Zheng LW, Xu Y and Fu LL revised the manuscript; All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by Science and Technology Development Project of Jilin Province, No. YDZJ202201ZYTS060.
Informed consent statement: All study participants, or their legal guardians, provided informed written consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors declare that they have no conflict of interest to disclose.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Xue-Ying Zhang, Doctor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Reproductive Medical Center, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, No. 4026 Yatai Street, Nanguan District, Changchun 130000, Jilin Province, China. zixjocuqo884013@qq.com
Received: October 14, 2022
Peer-review started: October 14, 2022
First decision: December 13, 2022
Revised: December 28, 2022
Accepted: January 9, 2023
Article in press: January 9, 2023
Published online: January 26, 2023
Processing time: 104 Days and 2 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Heterotopic pregnancy (HP) is a rare condition in which both ectopic and intrauterine pregnancies occur. HP is uncommon after natural conception but has recently received more attention due to the widespread use of assisted reproductive techniques (ART) such as ovulation promotion therapy.

CASE SUMMARY

Here, we describe a case of HP that occurred after ART with concurrent tubal and intrauterine singleton pregnancies. This was treated successfully with surgery to preserve the intrauterine pregnancy, resulting in the birth of a low-weight premature infant. This case report aims to increase awareness of the possibility of HP during routine first-trimester ultrasound examinations, especially in pregnancies resulting from ART and even if multiple intrauterine pregnancies are present.

CONCLUSION

This case alerts us to the importance of comprehensive data collection during regular consultations. It is important for us to remind ourselves of the possibility of HP in all patients presenting after ART, especially in women with an established and stable intrauterine pregnancy that complain of constant abdominal discomfort and also in women with an unusually raised human chorionic gonadotropin level compared with simplex intrauterine pregnancy. This will allow symptomatic and timeous treatment of patients with better results.

Keywords: Heterotopic pregnancy; Assisted reproductive techniques; Preterm labor; Premature rupture of membranes; Case report

Core Tip: Extrauterine pregnancies are collectively known as ectopic pregnancies. Heterotopic pregnancy (HP) is a rare type of ectopic pregnancy where both ectopic and intrauterine pregnancies occur. The more frequent use of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) leads to a rise in ectopic pregnancy, consequently leading to an increase in the incidence of HP. We report a case of HP that occurred after ART. Combined with the analysis of the cases indexed in PubMed, we concluded several possible factors related to the correlation. Symptomatic and timeous treatment of patients could lead to improved outcomes.