Pregnancy testing prior to sterilisation

Abstract

Objective To determine the incidence of positive pregnancy test on the day of laparoscopic sterilisation.Design Prospective longitudinal observational study.Setting Gynaecology unit in a UK teaching hospital.Sample Between 1 January 1997 and 31 December 1998, eight hundred and two consecutive women were admitted for laparoscopic sterilisation after assessment in the gynaecology clinic. On the day of planned surgery, all women had a pregnancy test performed on a urine sample taken that morning following overnight fasting, immediately prior to operation.Main outcome measures A positive pregnancy test on the day of planned surgery.Results Of 802 women tested, 21 (2.6%) were pregnant. A careful medical history taken before surgery revealed evidence of amenorrhoea and menstrual irregularity in 17 of the pregnant women. Of the 21 pregnant women, 11 underwent termination of pregnancy, six continued the pregnancy, four had a miscarriage and one had an ectopic pregnancy.Conclusion The routine practice of pregnancy testing on the day of laparoscopic sterilisation introduced in our hospital should continue to be part of a thorough clinical assessment before surgery. This may help to reduce the considerable level of existing litigation in a high risk area of gynaecological practice.

Pregnancy Reasonably Excluded Guide (PREG) Evaluation of Pregnancy Status Before Contraceptive Procedures: Improved Availability of Same-Day Insertion

“…The rate of positive pregnancy tests (0.1%) was lower than the 2.6% to 7.95% positive rates reported in some family planning settings. 2,19 The benefit of a screening tool such as PREG may be lower in populations with higher pregnancy rates. The sample size of 1012 visits over several years is a study strength and documented the success of PREG implementation.…”