Diagnosis of Intrauterine Pregnancy Despite the Presence of Etonogestrel Implant

Ryan J Sawyers; Pratik M Parikh; Jose J Lazaro; Marna R Greenberg

doi:10.7759/cureus.28041

Diagnosis of Intrauterine Pregnancy Despite the Presence of Etonogestrel Implant

Cureus. 2022 Aug 15;14(8):e28041. doi: 10.7759/cureus.28041. eCollection 2022 Aug.

Authors

Ryan J Sawyers¹, Pratik M Parikh¹, Jose J Lazaro², Marna R Greenberg¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Emergency and Hospital Medicine, Lehigh Valley Health Network/University of South Florida (USF) Morsani College of Medicine, Allentown, USA.
² Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Lehigh Valley Health Network/University of South Florida (USF) Morsani College of Medicine, Allentown, USA.

Abstract

While contraception is an important method to avoid pregnancy, it is not always effective. Our case details a 33-year-old-female with an etonogestrel implant who presented to the emergency department (ED) with a two-week history of vomiting and abdominal pain. Pelvic and transvaginal ultrasound confirmed a single, live intrauterine pregnancy. Our case serves as a reminder that ED providers should have a high index of suspicion for pregnancy in clinically relevant scenarios, despite contraceptive methods, until the appropriate confirmatory diagnostic evaluation for pregnancy is completed.

Keywords: anchoring bias; contraception; larc; nexaplanon; pregnancy detection.

Publication types

Case Reports