Goddy Bassey

Bacterial vaginosis among women with tubal factor infertility in Nigeria

To determine the prevalence of bacterial vaginosis among women with tubal factor infertility.

Erratum to: Cervical Cytology or Colposcopy in the Identification of Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplastic Changes in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Positive Patients in an African Population?

Background Effective screening methods for early detection of cervical premalignant lesions among women with human immunodeficiency virus are needful since cervical cancer is one of the AIDS-defining malignancies.

Determinants of interpregnancy interval among parturient in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Background: Interpregnancy interval (IPI) offers an important period which allows the parturient to recover from the effects of pregnancy and to be in optimum health before the next pregnancy. Short IPI has serious health and economic implications. Objective: To determine the IPI among parturient attending the antenatal clinic of the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital and the factors that determine this interval. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey involving 340 eligible women who attended the antenatal clinic. A pretested interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to obtain relevant information from the participants. The Chi-square and Student′s t-tests were used to determine association between predictor variables and the IPI with P < 0.05 as level of significance. Results: The mean age of respondents was 28.4 ± 3.9 years. The average IPI was 14.9 ± 8.5 months with a range of 3-28 months. The incidence of women with short IPI was 65.9% (224/340). Contraceptive use, the presence of a male child, perinatal death in the previous confinement, number of living children, previous history of infertility, duration of exclusive breastfeeding, and duration of postpartum amenorrhea showed significant association with the IPI. Conclusion: A significant proportion of our women had short IPI. Lack and failure of contraceptive use, absence of a male child, small family size, and perinatal death were among the factors that were significantly associated with short IPI. Knowledge of the of these factors would be of assistance to family planning counselors to understand the peculiar needs of our women and to offer appropriate contraceptive advice.

A five - year review of gestational trophoblastic diseases in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Background: Gestational Trophoblastic Diseases (GTD) are a spectrum of inter-related but histologically distinct tumours originating from the placenta with good prognosis when diagnosed early. Aim: To determine the prevalence, clinical presentations, management of gestational trophoblastic disease at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Methods: A retrospective analysis of women treated for gestational trophoblastic disease from 1st January 2008 to 31 st December 2012. The information from patients records: age, occupation, educational level, husband′s occupation, parity, presenting symptoms, uterine size, mode of treatment and management options were collated and analysed. The Chi-square test was used to compare categorical variables with a p value of ≤ 0.05 as significant. Results: A total of 38 cases of GTD were treated with a prevalence of 2.3 per 1,000 deliveries. The mean age and parity were 31 ± 6.3 years and 2 ± 1.6 respectively. Maternal age less than 35 years and low socioeconomic status were significantly associated with GTD (p=0.0000). The mean gestational age at presentation was 16.24 ± 5.4 weeks. The commonest clinical presentation was amenorrhoea in 100% of patients. Twenty-five(65.8%) cases of hydatidiform mole and 13(34.2%) cases of choriocarcinoma were observed. Twenty-two (57.9%) patients had suction evacuation only for hydatidiform mole, 3(7.9.%) had suction evacuation and cytotoxic therapy for hydatidiform mole and subsequent persistent trophoblastic disease while 8(21.1%) had chemotherapy for choriocarcinoma. Five patients with advanced choriocarcinoma did not receive definitive treatment before demise. Twenty (52.6%)defaulted in their follow up schedule. Conclusion: There is high prevalence of GTD in Port Harcourt with high mortality among patients with malignancy. Most of the patients defaulted in their follow up; thus there is a need for education and sensitization of the populace on GTD, as well as proper counseling of patients treated on the benefits of follow up visits.

Prevalence and risk factors of bacterial vaginosis in a cohort of women seeking child spacing services in nigeria

Background: The sustenance of reproductive potential of patients seeking contraceptive options is essential. The risk of bacterial vaginosis is increased by the choice of contraceptive options, which may affect postcontraception fertility. Objective: To determine the prevalence and risk factors of bacterial vaginosis in a cohort of women seeking child spacing services. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional prospective study of women seeking fertility regulation services was conducted in a tertiary health facility in Nigeria between March and September 2014. Interviews were conducted to collect data on sociodemographic characteristics, characteristics of vaginal discharge, and sexual practices engaged by these women. Bacterial vaginosis was diagnosed using the Amsel criteria. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated to assess the predisposing factors. Results: One-hundred seventy-eight clients were recruited. Bacterial vaginosis was noted in 7.87% of these women. Patients had increased risk of bacterial vaginosis when they were of low socioeconomic class (OR 8.17; 95% CI 2.30–29.81), used vaginal drying agents (OR 9.70; 95% CI 2.35–46.15), had an early sexual debut (OR 9.56; 95% CI 2 54–38.92), a history of previous sexually transmitted infections (OR 21.39; 95% CI 4.99–105.30), and practiced vaginal douching (OR 19.23; 95% CI 3.82–130.43). Conclusion: The prevalence of bacterial vaginosis in this cohort raises the need for a high index of clinical suspicion in patients seeking fertility regulation services in the presence of notable risk factors. Avoidance of contraceptive methods that may increase the risk of bacterial vaginosis and the need for treatment to maintain reproductive potentials is advised.

An evaluation of the characteristics of patients with gestational choriocarcinoma in south-south, nigeria

Background: Gestational trophoblastic diseases have been generally associated with the good outcome, especially in developed countries where early presentation and diagnosis is the norm. Objective: This study seeks to determine the characteristics of patients with gestational choriocarcinoma at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital(UPTH), Nigeria. Methods: This was a retrospective study of women who were treated for gestational choriocarcinoma at the UPTH over a 5-year period from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2012. Results: Atotal of 13 cases of gestational choriocarcinoma were treated in UPTH during the study period, and there were 16,720 deliveries giving a prevalence of 0.8/1000 deliveries. The majority of patients (76.9%) were of low socioeconomic class. 92.3% of patients presented with amenorrhea for 28 weeks. Histological examination of tissues extracted from previous miscarriages was not performed in 100% of patients. Eighty percent of all mortalities were associated with antecedent pregnancies being miscarriages. All patients managed were lost to follow-up within 32 weeks. Conclusion: Gestational choriocarcinoma in Port Harcourt is associated with high mortality. Most patients with choriocarcinoma were of low socioeconomic class, presented late with lack of histological examination of previously extracted products of conception. Most of the patients were lost to follow-up within 32 weeks.