Outcome of pregnancies among women with sickle cell disease.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the outcome of pregnancies among women affected by sickle cell disease (SCD). MATERIAL AND METHODS: This retrospective comparative cohort study was carried out between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2018. The files of pregnant women with and without SCD were analyzed. The main variables recorded included parity, diseases that occurred during pregnancy, maternal and gestational ages at delivery, mode of delivery, birthweight and Apgar score. Data were analyzed using SPSS 21.0. Fisher exact test and the t-test was used for comparison. p < .05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Our frequency of delivery of women with SCD was 0.1% (35/34,895). Significant complications associated with SCD were maternal anemia (RR = 17.00, 95%CI = 5.35-53.99), intra-uterine fetal demise (RR = 12.00, 95%CI = 1.39-103.22), low birthweight (RR = 2.52, 95%CI = 1.50-4.25), neonatal asphyxia (RR = 7.70, 95%CI = 2.57-22.99), transfer of newborn to the neonatal intensive care unit (RR = 3.42, 95%CI = 1.94-6.03), early neonatal death (RR = 4.56, 95%CI = 1.09-19.10), and maternal postpartum severe anemia (RR = 4.50, 95%CI = 1.36-14.87). CONCLUSIONS: Pregnancies amongst women with SCD are still associated with increased risk of maternal anemia as well as perinatal morbidity and mortality despite frequent blood transfusion. Therefore, new strategies should be explored to improve such pregnancies.

Risk factors of tubal infertility in a tertiary hospital in a low-resource setting: a case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Infertility is the inability to sustain a pregnancy in a woman with regular (2-3 times per week) unprotected sexual intercourse for a period of 1 year. This is a major public health problem that remains under-recognised in Cameroon and most countries in sub-Saharan Africa. This study aimed at identifying the risk factors associated with tubal infertility in a tertiary hospital in Douala, Cameroon. METHODS: We conducted a case-control study at the Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Radiology Departments of the Douala Referral Hospital from October 1, 2016, to July 30, 2017. We recruited 77 women with tubal infertility diagnosed using hysterosalpingography and 154 unmatched pregnant women served as controls. Data on socio-demographic, reproductive and sexual health, and radiologic assessments were collected using a pretested questionnaire. The data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 24.0. Logistic regression models were fitted to identify demographic, reproductive health factors, surgical, medical and toxicological factors associated with tubal infertility. The adjusted odds ratios (AOR) and their 95% confidence interval were interpreted. Statistical significance set at p < 0.05. RESULTS: Sixty-one per cent of respondents had secondary infertility. Following multivariate logistic regression analysis, respondents who were housewives (AOR 10.7; 95% CI: 1.68-8.41, p = 0.012), self-employed (AOR 17.1; 95% CI: 2.52-115.8, p = 0.004), with a history of Chlamydia trachomatis infection (AOR 17.1; 95% CI: 3.4-85.5, p = 0.001), with Mycoplasma infection (AOR 5.1; 95% CI: 1.19-22.02, p = 0.03), with ovarian cyst (AOR 20.5; 95% CI: 2.5-168.7, p = 0.005), with uterine fibroid (AOR 62.4; 95% CI: 4.8-803.2, p = 0.002), have undergone pelvic surgery (AOR 2.3; 95% CI: 1.0-5.5, p = 0.05), have undergone other surgeries (AOR 49.8; 95% CI: 6.2-400, p = 0.000), diabetic patients (AOR 10.5; 95% CI 1.0-113.4, p = 0.05) and those with chronic pelvic pain (AOR 7.3; 95% CI: 3.2-17.1, p = 0.000) were significantly associated with tubal infertility while the young aged from 15 to 25 (AOR 0.07; 95% CI: 0.01-0.67, 0.021), those in monogamous marriages (AOR 0.05; 95% CI: 0.003-1.02, p = 0.05), as well as those with a history of barrier contraceptive methods (condom) (AOR 0.17; 95% CI: 0.03-1.1, p = 0.06) were less likely to have tubal infertility. CONCLUSION: The following factors were independently associated with tubal infertility: being a housewife, self-employed, history of Chlamydia trachomatis, Mycoplasma infection, and uterine fibroid. Furthermore, a history of pelvic surgery and other surgeries, diabetes mellitus, and chronic pelvic pain were also associated with tubal infertility. Young age, persons in monogamous marriages and users of barrier methods of contraception (condom) were less likely to have tubal infertility. Identification of these factors will be a target of intervention to avoid tubal infertility.

Factors associated with the resumption of sexual intercourse before the scheduled six-week postpartum visit.

This retrospective cohort study was aimed at evaluating the factors associated with the resumption of sexual intercourse (SI) before the six-week postpartum visit and was carried out between 1 January and 15 February 2014. The main variables studied included maternal age, number of living children, mode of delivery, complications observed at delivery and resumption or not of SI. Data from women who resumed SI were compared to those of women who did not. Fisher's exact test and t-test were used for comparison. We recruited 120 women, among whom 95 (79.1%) resumed SI. Of these, 65/95 (68.4%) did not attend the postpartum visit while 30 (31.6%) did (P = 0.321). The factors associated with early resumption of SI were maternal age of 20-34 years (P < 0.001), women with one child (P < 0.004) and who had had an uncomplicated vaginal delivery (P < 0.001). Our conclusion is that nursing mothers should receive postpartum contraception before leaving the hospital.

Clinical presentation, risk factors and pathogens involved in bacteriuria of pregnant women attending antenatal clinic of 3 hospitals in a developing country: a cross sectional analytic study.

BACKGROUND: Pregnancy increases the risk of recurrent bacteriuria and acute pyelonephritis which is associated with significant maternal and fetal risks. The prevalence of bacteriuria varies worldwide. Clinical diagnosis is challenging since it is usually mistaken for normal physiological changes during pregnancy. This study aims to determine the prevalence, clinical presentation, risk factors and microorganism responsible for bacteriuria in pregnant women of Douala city, Cameroun. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 3 hospitals of Douala from January to April 2015. We consecutively recruited all consented pregnant women aged 18 years and above attending antenatal clinics. Socio-demographic characteristics, medical and obstetrical past history, clinical signs and obstetric characteristics of the index pregnancy were collected. Thereafter, urine were collected aseptically and subjected to routine macroscopy, microscopy examination and culture. The culture was obtained by inoculation of 10 µl of urine on the appropriate medium. Identification of pathogens was done automatically using the VITEK2™ (BioMérieux- France). Data were processed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 18. Statistics were descriptive and analytic; Odds ratios were calculated. Associations between variables and bacteriuria were conducted using the Chi squared test and the fisher exact probability. Associations with p-values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Overall, 354 pregnant women were enrolled with mean of age 28.18 ± 4.4. The prevalence of significant bacteriuria was 9.9% (35 out of 354). The prevalence of bacteriuria in women who were asymptomatic was 5.7%. Cystitis and pyelo-nephritis were observed in 3.6 and 0.6% respectively. The most commonly isolated organism was Escherichia coli (E. coli): 48.6%. History of Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) (p = 0.035, OR = 2.183, CI = 1.055-4.518) was significantly associated with bacteriuria. High level of education was protective. CONCLUSIONS: Bacteriuria was frequent in pregnant women and significantly increased with the past history of UTI and low level of education. Asymptomatic bacteriuria was more common. E coli was the most frequent uropathogen. Education and proper treatment of UTI should be provided to reduce the burden of this pathology in order to prevent its severe complications.

Outcome of late second trimester emergency cerclage in patients with advanced cervical dilatation with bulging amniotic membranes: a report of six cases managed at the douala general hospital, cameroon.

Purpose. To show the feasibility of emergency late second trimester cerclage with advanced cervical dilatation and bulging of amniotic membranes. Setting. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the Douala General Hospital. Method. This is a retrospective study of case files of patients who underwent emergency late second trimester cerclage with advanced cervical dilatation, some with bulging of fetal membranes between June 2003 and June 2010. The modified Shirodkar technique was employed in all the cases. Results. Altogether, six patients (100%) underwent late second trimester cervical cerclage between 24 and 26 weeks of gestational age. Four cases (66.7%) carried on their pregnancies to term that resulted in healthy live-born babies all delivered vaginally. The other two cases (33.3%) presented with preterm premature rupture of fetal membranes (PPROM) which led us to undo the stitch with eventual delivery of live-born premature fetuses which died in the neonatal intensive care unit because of complications of prematurity and neonatal infection. Conclusion. In experienced hands and in the absence of other risk factors like infection, the success rates of this procedure are encouraging with improved prognosis. Finally, the modified Shirodkar technique yielded excellent results in our series.