Ectopic Pregnancy in a University Teaching Hospital in Southern Nigeria: A Four Year Retrospective Study

Abstract

Background: Ectopic pregnancy remains a major contributor to maternal morbidity and mortality in the first trimester, especially in middle- and low-income settings where it poses as a major gynaecological emergency with most patients presenting late. Aim: This review highlights about Ectopic pregnancy at Rivers State University Teaching Hospital. Methods: This is a retrospective descriptive study on women who had ectopic gestation over a period of four years from January 1st, 2019 to 31st December 2022 at RSUTH. A structured proforma was designed and used to extract data from gynaecology ward, operating theatre registers and the hospital medical records. Data was entered and analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) IBM version 25.0 (Armonk, NY). Continuous variables are expressed in means +standard deviations and categorical variables are recorded in frequencies and percentages. Results: The prevalence of ectopic pregnancy was 1.1% of all deliveries and 3.9% of all gynaecological admission. Most of the patients who had ectopic pregnancy were amongst the age group 26-35 years, nulliparous, unemployed and single. The Mean age  SD was 30.28  4.96 years. The history of pelvic inflammatory disease was the most common risk factor; 50.6%. Majority of the patients, 97.5% had ruptured ectopic pregnancy, 85% had estimated blood loss of at least 500mls and required blood transfusions. Only 2 deaths were recorded in the study. Conclusion: The prevalence of ectopic pregnancy was relatively high with the ruptured cases in majority of the patients. There is need for increased enlightenment of the community on the disease and its risk factors.