Economic burden of obstetric fistula among patients in the National Obstetric Fistula Centre, Nigeria

Background: Obstetric fistula (OF) continues to be a major health problem in developing countries such as Nigeria. It is a communication between the vagina and bladder/rectum following prolonged obstructed labor that leads to urine/and fecal leakage per vaginam. There is a paucity of information on cost of accessing care by women with OF. Objective: The study was to evaluate the cost implications of accessing care and treatment among women with OF in the National Obstetric Fistula Centre, Ningi Bauchi, state. Materials and Methods: A prevalence-based cost-of-illness approach was employed in this study to estimate the cost of fistula treatment from the patients' perspective. Data on costs of health-care utilization of services rendered to the patients in the facility and indirect costs were estimated. The data were analyzed with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS V21). Results: A total of 75 women participated in the study. The total costs incurred by all the 75 patients amounted to Nigerian Naira (NGN) 8211640.00 (USD 26923.41). The average cost of accessing care for fistula per patient was NGN109488.50 (USD 358.98). Direct cost accounted for 5751740.00 (USD 18858.16), whereas the indirect cost was 2785600.00 (USD9133.11). There was a significant difference in cost of care between patients that were teenagers compared to those who were not (P = 0.04) and the type of treatment (P < 0.001). Conclusions: The cost of illness of OF is high in the studied area, and the patients are from the low socioeconomic background. Both the direct and indirect costs were high relative to the national minimum wage in Nigeria. The age of the patients and the type of treatment received by the patient accounted for the differences in cost of illness between the patients.

A three-year review of caesarean delivery at a secondary health facility in north-western Nigeria

Background: Caesarean section is today one of the commonest surgical operations performed on women. The increased refinement in anaesthetics and surgical skills has reduced the morbidity and mortality associated with the procedures. Most of the studies on caesarean rates in Nigeria are from tertiary centres in the main cities. They may not reflect the situation in secondary facilities in rural and sub-urban areas which do not have the adequate number of staff, equipment and logistic support. Objectives: To determine the rates of caesarean section, indications and outcome in the general hospital located in Dutse, Jigawa, North-Western Nigeria. Methods: It was a retrospective review of records of women that had caesarean delivery between January 2013 and December 2015. Socio-demographic and obstetric information were extracted and analysed using SPSS statistical software. Analysis of the data was done using descriptive statistics. Ethical approval was obtained from the state ministry of health research ethics committee. Results: There were a total of 9,362 deliveries of which 543 were caesarean births giving a caesarean section rate of 5.8%. Majority of the procedures were emergency (90%). More than half of the women had prolonged obstructed labour as the indication. Mean age (±SD) of the women was 25.5 ±7.21 years. There were 69 stillbirths and 4 maternal deaths. The main complication was wound breakdown seen among 9.8% of patients. Conclusion: The rate of caesarean section was lower compared to other secondary and tertiary facilities in Nigeria. Nine out of every 10 caesarean sections were emergency and were associated with high perinatal and maternal morbidity