부산대학교 도서관

Prior tubal sterilization should be regarded as a possible etiological factor in the pathogenesis of ectopic pregnancy. The authors present the case of a 31-year-old female who presented to our Emergency Department (ED) with the principal complaints of nausea and vomiting. She had undergone postpartum tubal ligation 5 years previously. Initial impression was acute gastritis. However, the discomfort was not resolved with the antispasmodic Buscopan®. Hypovolemic shock developed 2 hours later. The diagnosis was revised to ruptured ectopic pregnancy as the urine pregnancy test was positive. Urgent laparotomy was performed and a rupture tubal pregnancy was found in the left fallopian tube. The patient recovered uneventfully after left salpingectomy and was subsequently discharged 5 days later. The pitfall of this case was the delayed diagnosis with mimicking clinical presentation and the patient having a history of tube sterilization.