BACKGROUND:

Cornual pregnancy is a diagnostic challenge because the stretching capacity of the myometrium makes the manifestation late and with high mortality due to the risk of hemorrhagic shock that occurs in up to one third of patients.

OBJECTIVE:

To emphasize the importance of adequate prenatal care for the timely diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy and the consequent reduction of associated complications.

CLINICAL CASE:

Primigestation patient, 20 years old, native, and resident of Guadalupe, Nuevo Leon. No relevant heredofamilial or personal medical or surgical history. She was admitted to the obstetrics emergency room with hypovolemic shock and 31 weeks of pregnancy. On examination the abdominal cavity was found to have a left cornual pregnancy, with uterine rupture and placental accretism. Therefore, obstetric hysterectomy, bilateral salpingectomy and left oophorectomy were performed, with a report of 1000 mL of hemoperitoneum. The postoperative evolution was satisfactory.

CONCLUSIONS:

Cornual pregnancy should be suspected in any woman with amenorrhea, abdominal pain and transvaginal bleeding, with purposeful search for ultrasonographic findings of empty uterine cavity, chorionic sac separated at least 1 cm from the lateral border of the uterine cavity, thin myometrial layer (less than 5 mm) surrounding the gestational sac, and interstitial line sign (the visualization of an echogenic line extending from the endometrial cavity to the cornual region, contiguous with the gestational sac). The early diagnosis of these pregnancies avoids complications and affects the future obstetrician.