RESUMO
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.
RESUMO
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.
