Annals of emergency medicine
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To determine how often pelvic ultrasonography diagnoses or excludes ectopic pregnancy (EP) in patients who present with abdominal pain or vaginal bleeding and a beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (beta-hCG) level lower than 1,000 mIU/mL. ⋯ Approximately one third of women with EP who present with beta-hCG values lower than 1,000 mIU/mL were identified with an urgent transvaginal ultrasound examination performed by trained ultrasound technicians. Clinicians should consider the use of pelvic ultrasound in patients with suspected EP, regardless of their beta-hCG values, particularly at institutions where ultrasound is readily available.