Author(s)

Bridget Nkiruka Uche-Nwidagu, Vitus Okwuchukwu Obi, Johnbosco Ifunanya Nwafor^*, Assumpta Nnenna Nweke, Chinwe Wendy Oliobi, Malachy Chizoba Onyema, Paschal Chijioke Okoye

Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, Nigeria.

Background: Ectopic pregnancy is a common cause of maternal morbidity and mortality in the 1^st trimester of pregnancy; without timely diagnosis and intervention, ruptured ectopic pregnancy can become a life threatening condition. Objective: This study aims to give baseline indices on the incidence, clinical presentation, risk factors and the management of cases of ectopic pregnancy that presented in Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki over a 5-year period. Materials and Method: This is a 5-year retrospective study of patients who were diagnosed with ectopic pregnancy between January 1^st 2012 and December 31^st 2016. The statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 22. Result: During the study period, there were 11,932 deliveries while 7725 Gynaecology patients were admitted. Over the same period there were 156 patients diagnosed and managed for ectopic pregnancy, accounting for 1.31% of all deliveries and 2.0% of all Gynaecological admissions. The modal age group was 26 - 30 years 68 (43.6%), 122 (78.2%) were married, while 34 (21.7%) were single. Nulliparous were 41 (26.3%) and primiparous were 33 (21.2%). The commonest presenting complaints were lower abdominal pain and amenorrhea, and the commonest identified risk factor was previous pelvic inflammatory disease. Most of the cases were ruptured prior to presentation and partial salpingectomy was the management in all tubal pregnancy while two cases were unruptured and had salpingostomy and another case was abdominal pregnancy and had exploratory laparotomy only. Out of 156 women that presented with ectopic pregnancy, 8 (5.1%) died before surgery could be done due to late presentation. Fifty-seven women presented in a state of shock and 9 (5.8%) of the cases were complicated with acute renal failure. Conclusion: Ruptured ectopic pregnancy is a major cause of maternal morbidity and early pregnancy loss. Late presentation is a common feature in our environment; hence widespread advocacy on case identification and early presentation is urgently needed.

Epidemiology, Management, Ectopic Pregnancy, Abakaliki

Uche-Nwidagu, B. , Obi, V. , Nwafor, J. , Nweke, A. , Oliobi, C. , Onyema, M. and Okoye, P. (2019) Epidemiology and Management of Ectopic Pregnancy in Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, Southeast, Nigeria. Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 9, 1202-1211. doi: 10.4236/ojog.2019.98117.