A prospective surveillance of ruptured uterus in a rural tertiary health facility in northwest Nigeria.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the frequency, cause and management outcome of ruptured uterus at a rural tertiary hospital.

METHODS

Cross sectional study which utilized a prospective surveillance of all cases of ruptured uterus that presented to the hospital from 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2013.

RESULTS

Frequency: Over the study period there were 3001 deliveries and 44 cases of ruptured uterus; however, three died before surgery and 41 cases had exploratory laparatomy giving a prevalence of 14.7/1000 deliveries or 1 in 68 deliveries. Their ages ranged from 18 to 45 with a mean of 28.3 ± 6.6 years and parity varied between 1 and 13 with majority (62.7%) being grand multiparous. Twenty-five (61.0%) lived over 50 km away from the hospital. Causes: Prolonged/obstructed labour accounted for 33 (80.5%) cases, 23 (56.1%) had previous caesarean sections, while injudicious use of oxytocin was observed in 17 (41.5%). Management outcome: All the women who had surgery survived but 16 (39.0%) had anaemia, 10 (24.4%) had wound infection, three (7.3%) developed burst abdomen and 11 (26.8%) had prolonged hospital stay. There were 40 (97.5%) stillbirths of which 25 (61.0%) were fresh.

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of ruptured uterus is high especially among women with prolonged/obstructed labour and previous caesarean section with associated high perinatal mortality.