The obstetric vesicovaginal fistula: characteristics of 899 patients from Jos, Nigeria

Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2004 Apr;190(4):1011-9. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2004.02.007.

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe the characteristics of women with obstetric vesicovaginal fistulas at a hospital in north central Nigeria.

Study design: A retrospective record review was conducted of all women who were seen with vesicovaginal fistulas at Evangel Hospital in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria, between January 1992 and June 1999.

Results: A total of 932 fistula cases were identified, of which 899 cases (96.5%) were associated temporally with labor and delivery. The "typical patient" was small and short (44 kg and <150 cm); had been married early (15.5 years) but was now divorced or separated; was uneducated, poor, and from a rural area; had developed her fistula as a primigravida during a labor that lasted at least 2 days and which resulted in a stillborn fetus.

Conclusion: Obstetric vesicovaginal fistula is extremely common in north central Nigeria. A complex interaction that involves multiple biologic and socioeconomic factors appears to predispose young women to this devastating childbirth injury.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Anthropometry
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Medical Records
  • Middle Aged
  • Nigeria / epidemiology
  • Obstetric Labor Complications / epidemiology*
  • Obstetric Labor Complications / etiology
  • Obstetric Labor Complications / prevention & control
  • Patient Acceptance of Health Care
  • Pregnancy
  • Pregnancy Outcome
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Socioeconomic Factors
  • Vesicovaginal Fistula / epidemiology*
  • Vesicovaginal Fistula / etiology
  • Vesicovaginal Fistula / prevention & control