Socio-demographic and delivery characteristics of patients with obstetric fistula in Haut-Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of Congo
Background: In developing countries, fistulae are generally caused by long obstructed labors. Obstetric fistula (OF) is a severe condition which can have devastating consequences for a woman’s life.Objective: Describe the socio-demographic and delivery characteristics of patients with OF in Haut-Kat...
Guardado en:
| Autores principales: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Formato: | article |
| Lenguaje: | EN |
| Publicado: |
Shiraz University of Medical Sciences
2019
|
| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://doaj.org/article/eab255db02e04ea3adb2f508a95100c2 |
| Etiquetas: |
Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
|
| Sumario: | Background: In developing countries, fistulae are generally caused by long obstructed labors. Obstetric fistula (OF) is a severe condition which can have devastating consequences for a woman’s life.Objective: Describe the socio-demographic and delivery characteristics of patients with OF in Haut-Katanga province in the DRCongo.Methods: This is a prospective descriptive study of 413 patients with OF in Haut-Katanga province during the period from September 2009 to December 2018.Results: At fistula occurrence, 53.3% of patients were younger than 20 years (mean age: 21.3 ± 6.7 years) and 65.8% were primiparous. More than half had primary education and 39.7% were illiterate; 70.2% of the patients were separated or divorced. Fistula developed after delivery at home in 239 (57.9%) of 413 women. A total of 393 (95.2%) women developed fistula after vaginal delivery. A total of 387 (93.7%) of the 413 women reported that the fetus did not survive the labor during which fistula developed. 92.3% had a vesico-vaginal fistula and the mean age of fistula was 6.5 years. Surgical repair was successful in 82.9%.Conclusion: Obstructed labor remains the most important cause of OF in Haut-Katanga. It is important to prevent OF arising from obstructive causes. The surgical treatment of OF will depend upon the type, size and location of fistula. |
|---|