THYROID DYSFUNCTION IN WOMEN OF REPRODUCTIVE AGE: LABORATORY PROTOCOL FOR INFERTILITY EVALUATION.

Background: Infertility in developing counties worldwide is associated with many social, financial, and medical challenges. With a prevalence rate of between 10 - 14 % and biochemical etiology of about 80% of the cases among Nigerian women, laboratory diagnosis has gradually assumed an important role in improved diagnosis. Objective: The aim was to evaluate the prevalence of thyroid dysfunction in infertility and need to evaluate. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional case study of one hundred and twenty-five (125) women selected by stratified random sampling method into two groups of primary and secondary infertility. A total of 125 healthy fertile women served as the control group. Serum freeT3 (fT3), feeT4 (fT4), and TSH were analyzed using commercial ELISA kits. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0 and the p-value of ≤0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Twenty participants (16%) were observed to have associated thyroid dysfunction with infertility. The commonest thyroid dysfunction was overt hypothyroidism (9.6%) and subclinical hypothyroidism (4.0%) respectively and this was found to be commoner in secondary infertility (21.8%). Conclusion: Thyroid function evaluation (especially serum TSH) should be included as a routine assessment in infertility protocol, especially in secondary infertility cases.

Utilization of surgical antibiotic prophylaxis for obstetrics and gynaecology surgeries in Northern Nigeria.

Background Audit of antibiotic prophylaxis is an important strategy used to identify areas where stewardship interventions are required. Objectives To evaluate compliance with surgical antibiotic prophylaxis in obstetrics and gynaecology surgeries and determine the Defined Daily Dose (DDD) of antibiotic. Settings Three public tertiary hospitals located in Northern Nigeria. Methods This prospective study included women who had obstetrics and gynaecology surgeries with no infection at the time of incision. Appropriateness of antibiotic prophylaxis was determined by a clinical pharmacist. DDD of antibiotics was determined using ATC/DDD index 2017 from the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Drugs Statistics Methodology. Main outcome measure Compliance with antibiotic prophylaxis and DDD of antibiotic per procedure. Results A total of 248 procedures were included (mean age: 31.7 ± 7.9 years). Nitroimidazole in combination with either beta-lactam/beta-lactamase inhibitor or third generation cephalosporin were the most prescribed antibiotics. Redundant anaerobic antibiotic combination was detected in 71.4% of the procedures. Timing of antibiotic prophylaxis was optimal in 16.5% while duration of prophylaxis was prolonged in all the procedures (mean duration was 8.7 ± 1.0 days). The DDD of antibiotics prophylaxis was 16.75 DDD/procedure. Antibiotic utilisation was higher in caesarean section and myomectomy (17.9 DDD/procedure) than hysterectomy (14.5 DDD/procedure); P < 0.001. Redundant metronidazole represents one-third of total DDD and 87% of the DDD for metronidazole. Conclusion Excessive and inappropriate use of antibiotic prophylaxis was observed in women who had obstetrics and gynaecology surgeries. These observations underline the need for antimicrobial stewardship interventions to improve antibiotic use.

A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF INTRAMUSCULAR ACETAMINOPHEN VERSUS INTRAMUSCULAR PENTAZOCINE AS LABOUR ANALGESIA IN ZARIA, NORTHWESTERN NIGERIA.

BACKGROUND: Intramuscular pentazocine is a common labour analgesic in Zaria, Nigeria due to its low cost and availability. Though also cheap and readily available the use of intramuscular acetaminophen is not popular and hence the need for a comparative study. AIM & OBJECTIVES: To compare the efficacy of intramuscular acetaminophen versus intramuscular pentazocine on women in labour as well as the effects of both drugs on APGAR scores of their newborn. METHODOLOGY: A randomized, comparative study was conducted on 188 eligible, parturients from June to September, 2013. The subjects were selected during antenatal classes and early active labour, counseled, taught about the pain scoring systems after obtaining written consent from them. Randomization was done using the WINPEPI software by Abrahamson in order for each woman in labour to receive either intramuscular acetaminophen 15mg/kg stat or pentazocine 1mg/kg at cervical dilatation of 4-6cm. The data obtained included the patients demographics, hourly pain scores, APGAR scores, patients' satisfaction and side effects. RESULTS: The mean age was 28.1years ± SD 5.2years. The majority of the subjects (53.5%) were Hausa-Fulani and 70.1% were muslims; 64% were booked for antenatal care while 58.5% had received secondary school education. The average duration of labour was 5.4hours. Acetaminophen was administered to 91(48%) subjects while pentazocine was administered to 97(52%). Sixty-nine percent and 80% experienced adequate pain relief in the acetaminophen and pentazocine groups respectively at one hour. The pain scores was statistically significant at one hour but comparable in both groups afterwards: p=0.01, 0.52, 0.338 and 0.389 at 1(st), 2(nd), 3(rd) and 4(th) hours on the linear/visual analogue scale and comparable on the verbal rating scale. There was no difference in the 1(st) and 5(th) minute APGAR scores of the babies delivered (p=0.24 and 0.63 respectively). Patients' satisfaction was comparable but the pentazocine group experienced more side effects. CONCLUSION: Intramuscular acetaminophen gave comparable labour analgesia with fewer side effects when compared with pentazocine.

Calabash pregnancy: a malingering response to infertility complicated by domestic violence.

This is a case report of a 20-year old para 0+0 who presented with an 11-month pregnancy. On evaluation, the pregnancy was found to be a fake made-up 'calabash pregnancy'. There were no pregnancy symptoms and she had just menstruated three weeks prior to presentation. This was a deliberate event in response to delayed pregnancy attainment complicated by domestic violence. Domestic violence was in the form of verbal and physical abuse and later was on a monthly basis precipitated by onset of her menstrual flow. The patient's age, monogamous union and the fact that she is an orphan made her vulnerable to domestic violence.

Leiomyosarcoma uteri in a white woman.

Sarcoma of the corpus uteri should be considered as a differential diagnosis in postmenopausal women presenting with severe abdominal pain, thought to be due to degenerative changes of leiomyoma uteri. We present a rare case of leiomyosarcoma in a postmenopausal White woman. Diagnosis was missed preoperatively for degenerating uterine fibroid.

Reproductive health in Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Adolescents have special reproductive health needs, but these peculiar needs are often unmet in many cultures and countries. METHODS: A cross-sectional study involving adolescents in three secondary schools in a northern Nigerian setting. Demographic characteristics as well as reproductive health issues (adolescent sex, abortion, sexual experience) among the students were surveyed. RESULTS: Of the 1070 students that fully participated in the survey, 539 (50.4%) were girls and 531 (49.6%) boys. They were aged 10 - 27 years (median 16 Years). Five hundred forty three (50.7%) were Christians and 499 (46.6%) Muslims. Nine hundred and four (84.5%) of the students knew about abortion. On their view about reasons why adolescents indulge in premarital sex, 574 (53.6%) felt it was to please boyfriend/girlfriend, 391 (36.5%) to experiment with sex, 312 (29.6%) to test fertility and 239 (22.3%) felt it was to stop painful menstruation. One hundred thirty five (12.6%) have had sex and 15 - 19 years age group were more likely to be sexually active. Twelve (1.1%) of the girls had been pregnant once - four times before and all had an abortion. Children of civil servants were significantly more likely to be sexually active compared to other groups of children (p <0.05). All the respondents knew one or more complication of abortion to include inability to get pregnant in future 682 (63.7%), abdominal pain 589 (55%) and painful menstruation 427 (39.9%). CONCLUSION: Adolescents are unique in every way including issues of reproductive health. The age at sexual debut in this setting is early. There is a need to include reproductive health education in the curriculum of secondary schools. This should help the adolescents to obtain the correct information from the right source.

Hydrotubation in the management of female infertility: outcome in low resource settings.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the outcome of therapeutic hydrotubation (tubal flushing) in patients with tubal infertility and unexplained infertility. DESIGN: Prospective non-randomised observational study. SETTING: Alba hospital, a five bed multidisciplinary private hospital in Kaduna city, Nigeria. SUBJECTS: Infertile women with tubal and unexplained infertility. RESULTS: Two hundred and fifty seven patients that had therapeutic hydrotubation over 7.5 years were analysed. The age range was 21 to 44 years with mean of 34.5 years. Secondary infertility was found in 209 (81.3%) patients and primary infertility in 166 (64.6%) patients. Of the 257 patients, 134 (52.1%) had had induced abortion. Indications for hydrotubation were bilateral perifimbrial adhesion (incomplete tubal occlusion) 47.9%, bilateral fimbrial end occlusion 24.9%, bilateral cornual blockage 16% and unexplained infertility in 11.3% of cases. One hundred and nine conceptions were recorded in this study and the overall conception rate was 42.4%. Likewise, percentage ratio of conception in these 154 patients with evidence of post-hydrotubation tubal patency was 70.8%. Pregnancy outcome of the 109 conceptions are term pregnancy 84.4%, preterm pregnancy 9.2%, miscarriage 4.6% and ectopic pregnancy in 1.8% of the conceptions. Recorded complications were pelvic pain in 177 (68.9%) patients and vaginal bleeding in 63 (24.5%) patients. CONCLUSION: With good case selection, therapeutic hydrotubation may be beneficial in resource poor countries, especially in patients with incomplete tubal occlusion (bilateral perifimbrial adhesions) and as part of treatment for unexplained infertility.

Fertility and obstetric outcome after caesarean myomectomy.

This is a prospective non-randomised study to determine the fertility performance and pregnancy outcome in pregnant females who had caesarean myomectomy at last delivery. A total of 29 females were studied and they had a mean age of 37.3 years. Of these, 22 (75.9%) of the females were para 1 and 25 (86.2%) had had one previous caesarean section. Only six (20.7%) of them had fertility treatment before the attainment of the index pregnancy. The common antenatal complications recorded were abnormal lie/malpresentation (10.3%), placenta praevia (10.3%) and threatened abortion (10.3%); 17 patients were eligible for trial of scar; 13 (44.8%) had successful vaginal birth after caesarean myomectomy, while 16 (55.2%) had repeat caesarean section including a caesarean hysterectomy. Postoperative morbidity was recorded in four (25%) of the 16 patients that had abdominal delivery. There was no maternal or perinatal mortality recorded. The future fertility and or subsequent pregnancy outcome in patients is unaffected by caesarean myomectomy.

Metastatic ovarian squamous cell carcinoma.

Ovarian squamous cell carcinoma is usually associated with germ cell tumours (dermoid cyst) or endometriosis in primary cancer. While tumour metastasis to the ovary is common and often bilateral in over 50 percent of cases, metastatic cervical squamous cell carcinoma to the ovary is infrequent compared to adenocarcinoma from other extraovarian primaries and the cervix. We report two cases of unilateral metastatic ovarian squamous cell carcinoma from the uterine cervix in two women aged 38 years and 48 years, respectively. They presented with abdominopelvic masses, clinically thought to be tuberculosis and primary ovarian tumour, respectively. Both had laparotomy which revealed multinodular ovarian masses with extensive extra-ovarian involvement of the corpus and uterine cervix by tumour and omental seedlings. Tissue microscopy showed total replacement of ovarian stroma by tumour with necrotic foci and containing infiltrating nests and cords of malignant squamous cells with prominent intercellular bridges. No evidence of teratoma or endometriosis was seen in the histology sections. They were both diagnosed with metastatic ovarian squamous cell carcinoma with advanced stage disease primary in the uterine cervix. Ovarian metastatic squamous cell carcinoma from the uterine cervix may occur with advanced stage cervical carcinoma. Unilateral multinodular ovarian mass with extensive extra-ovarian tumour involvement should raise suspicion of metastasis rather than of primary tumour. Early and prompt diagnosis is desirable in the management of these patients.

Septic postpartum uterine inversion.

Puerperal uterine inversion is an uncommon but life threatening obstetrical emergency. A 26-year-old woman, para six, was referred from a peripheral hospital seven days after delivery, with a mass protruding per vaginum. Complete uterine inversion had occurred after delivery of baby and placenta. She was resuscitated and her genital infection was treated. She had a vaginal hysterectomy upon request. Her postoperative recovery was uneventful. Poor management of the third stage of labour is a common cause of uterine inversion. Early replacement of the inverted uterus is important to prevent further complications.

Triplet gestation: clinical outcome of 14 cases.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: To determine maternal complications and fetal outcome of triplet gestations. METHOD: Retrospective study of pregnant women with triplet gestation managed in 10 years. RESULTS: Fourteen women were managed with triplet gestation, of these, (71.4%) were booked for antenatal care and four (28.6%) were unbooked. The mean age of the women was 31.3 years. The age range was between twenty seven years and thirty nine years. The mean gestational age at diagnosis for the booked women was 18.6 weeks. Of the fourteen patients, ten (71.4%) had spontaneous conception, three (21.4%) followed ovulation induction and one (7.2%) resulted from invitro fertilization and embryo transfer. Two (14.3%) patients had cervical cerclage based on their past obstetric history and assessment of the cervix. Six (42.9%) patients were hospitalized and treated for preeclampsia 3 patients, spontaneous abortion 1 patient and cervical incompetence 2 patients. Eleven (78.6%) patients had preterm birth. The mean gestational age at delivery was 33.4 weeks. Of the thirteen deliveries, nine (69.2%) had caesarean section and four (30.8%) delivered per vaginam. A total of thirty nine babies were delivered, thirty four (87.2%) babies survived and five (12.8%) died. Perinatal mortality was 11.9% and the "take home" baby rate was 81%. CONCLUSION: Antenatal care with initiation of specialized prenatal care and planned delivery in triplet gestation improves fetal outcome.

Ovarian pregnancy presenting as ovarian tumour: report of 2 cases.

We present 2 cases of ovarian masses diagnosed as tumours but turned out to be pregnancy. Ovarian pregnancy, a form of ectopic gestation has a distinct pathology though it can be a source of diagnostic difficulty clinically and intraoperatively. A total of 71 ectopic pregnancies were seen in the department from January 2001 to December 2005, of these only two were ovarian ectopics. Both patients were nulliparous and presented with lower abdominal pains, abdominal masses and menstrual irregularity. They both had laparotomy and total right salpingo-oophorectomy. Grossly, the ovaries were enlarged, grey tan and globular. Focal ruptures in the wall of the ovaries showed protruding fetal parts. Microscopy showed chorionic villi within and in continuity with ovarian stroma and corpus luteum. They were both diagnosed ovarian ectopics. A good knowledge and understanding of the gross pathology, combination of imaging studies and high index of suspicion should help in making an intra-operative diagnosis.

Foetal chondrodysplasia: intrauterine diagnosis.

Chondrodysplasias are rare occurrence. We present a case of short-limbed chondrodyplasia diagnosed in a 22 week fetus of a 28 year old. She was para 4(+0) with two children alive. She had similar occurrences in her last two pregnancies. The index pregnancy and the last two eventful pregnancies were preceded with ingestion of trado-herbal drug to treat subfertility.