167 Early Pregnancy Complications: Ectopic Pregnancy, Abortion Types, and GTD

In episode 167 of the Physician Assistant Exam Review Podcast, we dive into early pregnancy complications – a tough but essential topic for PA school, EORs, and the PANCE. We cover: Ectopic pregnancy: risk factors, classic presentation, key diagnostics (beta‑HCG + transvaginal ultrasound), and when to choose methotrexate versus surgery. Abortion classifications: threatened, inevitable, incomplete, complete, missed, septic, and recurrent abortion, with a focus on what's happening at the cervical os and how that drives the diagnosis. Gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD): "snowstorm" ultrasound appearance, beta‑HCG out of proportion to dates, and key red flags like preeclampsia before 20 weeks. Then we pull it all together with one simple mental model to sort most question stems: Low beta‑HCG → think ectopic Falling beta‑HCG → think abortion Very high beta‑HCG → think molar pregnancy (GTD) This episode isn't about memorizing random lists. It's about learning how to organize the information so you can make better clinical decisions and pick the right answer under pressure. Full episode notes: physicianassistantexamreview.com/167 Free masterclass (6 skill areas PA students need to win): physicianassistantexamreview.com/masterclass Join the early wait list for the next 33 Days to Pass the PANCE cohort: physicianassistantexamreview.com/masterclass/33