Ectopic pregnancy test may rescue fertility

This latest blood screening could detect whether babies are is growing outside the womb with greater accuracy than conventional tests.

About 11,000 women in the UK have ectopic pregnancies each year. They occur fertilised egg s implant become implanted outside the womb, most often in the fallopian tube.

If the tube is ruptured it can cause massive internal bleeding and death in rare cases. Fertility can also be affected.

Although ultrasound scans can often identify such pregnancies, embryos are sometimes too small be seen in early pregnancy.

A blood test to measure levels of the hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), which is produced by placental tissue, can also take a long time to produce results.

The new test, developed by scientists in the US, checks for four key proteins in the blood.

It is not foolproof and can result in no confirmed answer, but is highly effective at distinguishing between ectopic and normal pregnancies.

Experts based in Pennsylvania carried out a trial on 100 women with ectopic pregnancy and 100 women with normally developing pregnancy.

Overall, a confirmed result was given in 42per cent of cases. Of these, the test was able to distinguish between ectopic and normal pregnancies with 99 per cent accuracy.

Researcher Dr Mary Rausch, from the Centre for Human Reproduction at North Shore Long Island Hospital in New York, said the test could, if developed over the next few years, potentially give same-day results.

Early diagnosis means immediate treatment and the opportunity to try to protect future fertility, she said after presenting the study at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine conference in Denver.