Analysis of cesarean section rate according to Robson’s classification in an urban health centre in Senegal

Background: Robson, proposed a new classification system, the Robson’s Ten-Group Classification System to allow critical analysis according to characteristics of pregnancy. The objective was to describe caesarean rates in an urban health centre in Dakar using Robson’s Ten groups classificationMethods: This study was performed in Philippe Senghor health centre in Dakar (Senegal), a secondary health centre that performs CS since 2011. Before this date, only midwifes performed deliveries in this centre. The study took place between 1 January and 31 December 2013. All patients who delivered during this period by CS were included.Women were classified in 10 groups according to Robson’s classification, using maternal characteristics and obstetrical history. For each group, we calculated its relative size and its contribution to the overall caesarean rate.Results: The overall rate of caesarean was 18.2%. The main contributors to the overall caesarean rate were primiparous women in spontaneous labour (group 1) and women with previous caesarean section (group 5). Further analysis of group 1 showed that more than half of CS indications in this group were fetal-pelvic disproportion in 55.2% and fetal hypoxia in 27%.Conclusion: The Robson’s classification is easy to use. Each maternity unit can compare its rates with those of units with similar level, to find whether some groups of women have very high rates of caesarean sections. Attention should be made because CS rates is rising up and will be problematic in our low resource countries. It is time to implement obstetric audits to lower the CS rates

Inflammatory breast cancer: features and outcomes in a breast unit in Dakar, Senegal

Background: The aim of this study was to determine clinical features and outcomes of patients with inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) treated in our breast unit.Methods: This study was performed at Gynaecologic and Obstetric Clinic of Dakar Teaching Hospital, in which a breast unit was created since 2007. All women with diagnosis of inflammatory breast cancer in our Breast Unit between January 2010 and December 2013 were included in this study. The diagnosis of IBC was made clinically using the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) and confirmed histologically. The follow-up cut-off for this data set was December 31st, 2014. All analyses for this study were performed using SPSS software (version 20.0).Results: Between 2010 and 2013, 22 women with breast cancer who met eligibility criteria were included out of 161 patients followed for breast cancer leading to a frequency of 13.6%. The median age at diagnosis was 43.4 years (26-79 years). Mean time to diagnosis was 4 months. The mean time to recurrence was 11.2 months. This recurrence was observed in 45.5% of cases. The median overall survival was 13.3 months (CI 95% 8.576-18.526), the survival rate was 31.8%.Conclusions: This series shows a high frequency of inflammatory breast cancer. These tumours are very aggressive with a very poor prognosis

Invasive mole: a rare cause of postmenopausal bleeding

Gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD) describes a number of gynaecological tumours that originate in the trophoblast layer, including hydatidiform mole (complete or partial), placental site trophoblastic tumour, choriocarcinoma and invasive mole. Invasive moles are responsible of most cases of localized gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN). Invasive mole is a condition where a molar pregnancy, such as a partial hydatidiform mole or complete hydatidiform mole, invades the wall of the uterus. It is an extremely rare condition. As GTN is not considered in the differential diagnosis of postmenopausal uterine malignancies, its preoperative diagnosis is challenging. We report a case of invasive hydatidiform mole in a postmenopausal woman discovered in a context of postmenopausal bleeding. She underwent hysterectomy and followed up till her beta hCG levels were within normal limits. The patient is in complete remission in the first postoperative year.

Puerperal uterine inversion: a new case report

Puerperal uterine inversion is a rare and severe affection which the uterine fundus collapses into the endometrial cavity. The diagnosis is essentially made on clinical examination, which also allows to determinate the gravity. The management must be done early, which can be surgical or non-surgical. Through a case study we will review the literature

About a case of a specific complication of monoamniotic twin pregnancy: umbilical cord entanglement

Monoamniotic twin pregnancies are uncommon and often complicated by umbilical cord entanglement. It is important to investigate a umbilical cord entanglement during antenatal ultrasound examinations. The diagnosis is based on ultrasound with color and pulsed Doppler. Despite the high percentage of cord entanglement, the perinatal mortality rate remains very low. Rigorous ultrasound monitoring and recording of fetal heart rhythms can improve the prognosis. We report a case of umbilical cord entanglement in a monoamniotic twin pregnancy discovered during a caesarean section with a favorable outcome

Choriocarcinoma with uterine rupture presenting as acute haemoperitoneum and shock

Choriocarcinoma is a rare neoplasm and a malignant form of gestational trophoblastic disease. Invasive mole may perforate uterus through the myometrium resulting in uterine perforation and intraperitoneal bleeding. But uterine perforation due to choriocarcinoma is rare. We present a case of a young woman who presented 1 year after uterine evacuation of a molar pregnancy with invasive choriocarcinoma complicated by a uterine rupture and haemoperitoneum

Obstetrical vacuum extraction practice in Senegal: knowledge, attitude and practices

Background:Assess knowledge, attitudes and practices of healthcare providers in the three biggest regions in Senegal, appreciate their level of training and determine the frequency of the practice of vacuum extraction in health facilities.Methods: This was a prospective study conducted over 1 year from January 1 to December 31, 2015 with a survey through interviews using a semi-structured questionnaire with open or closed questions, single or multiple-choice. Were included in the study providers practicing vacuum extractor, officiating in Dakar, Thies and Saint-Louis in the private and/or public sector who agreed to participate in the study. Data were captured and analyzed using File Maker Pro version 12 Inc*, then SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science) version 21.0.Results: Out of 250 healthcare providers, 223 accepted to answer the questionnaire leading to an acceptance rate of 89.2%. 142 healthcare providers (63.7%) were trained in vacuum extraction. A proportion of 62.3% of providers knew the indications of vacuum extraction. For contraindications, only 34.5% of providers were able to cite one of them. Complications of vacuum extraction were known to 58.7% of our providers. There was a statistically significant difference between doctors and the others (midwifes, nurses) in the knowledge of indications, contraindications and complications of vacuum extraction. The only discriminatory parameter leading to this difference was initial and continuous training in vacuum extraction.Conclusions: It is important to introduce obstetric vacuum training in the gynaecology and obstetrics program for medical students and midwifery training schools, reinforce this training using simulators, include the practice of vacuum extraction in the internship objectives of medical students and midwives and evaluate them regularly

Unruptured tubal pregnancy in the second trimester

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Impact of day of delivery on obstetric and perinatal outcome: a 10 years retrospective descriptive and analytical study at the Phillipe Maguilen Senghor Health Centre, Dakar, Senegal

Background: For a lot of women, childbirth is still a feared moment. Despite considerable progress in the management of childbirth and its complications, maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality are still a major problem even in developed countries. To evaluate the influence of day of delivery on obstetrical and perinatal outcome.Methods: Retrospective cohort study conducted at the Philippe Maguilen SENGHOR health center maternity ward from January 1, 2011 to June 30, 2019, on patients with a pregnancy of more than 22 weeks of amenorrhea who were received for delivery management. The deliveries periods were divided according to whether they occurred on a working day (deliveries from Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays) or on weekends and public holidays (deliveries on Saturdays, Sundays and days declared as public holidays according to the Gregorian and Senegalese event calendars). The data were extracted from our E-perinatal database and analysed in the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS 24, Mac version).Results: Over 102 months, we recorded 42 870 deliveries. The average age of the patients was 27 years with extremes of 13 and 50 years. Nearly one in three deliveries took place on a holiday or weekend (n=13566-31.6%). The rate of caesarean delivery on weekends/holidays (18.8%) was lower than that on weekdays (21%). The odds ratio of having/benefiting from a weekend/holiday caesarean section was 0.87 (CI 0.83-0.92, p<0.0001). Our results suggest that patients who deliver on weekdays are more likely to receive a caesarean section than those who deliver on weekends or holidays. Perineal injury, World Health Organization obstetric complications, and neonatal outcome showed no significant difference by day of delivery.Conclusions: Our results contradict the idea that deliveries on weekends and holidays are more risky for patients and their children

A hospital based case control study of female breast cancer risk factors in a Sub-Saharan African country

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in women worldwide with over 1.3 million new cases per year. There is a wide variation in the geographical burden of the disease with the highest incidences seen in the developed regions of the world and the lowest incidences observed in the least developed regions. The objective of this study was to understand further the risks for breast cancer in Senegalese population which can then inform public health strategies to try and reduce the burden of breast cancer.Methods: This matched case control study was conducted in 2015 in Aristide Le Dantec Teaching Hospital in Dakar. All women with pathologically confirmed primary breast cancer were considered as cases. For each case, 2 age-matched women were recruited. We collected and compared demographic factors, family history of breast cancer, socioeconomic variables, reproductive variables (age at menarche, age at first pregnancy and first live birth, parity, menopausal status, duration of breastfeeding), and exogenous hormone use up to 6 months. Odds ratios from univariate logistic regression were used to estimate the relative risk of breast cancer associated with the various factors, and their predictive effects.Results: In all, 212 women with breast cancer who were diagnosed as having breast cancer and 424 control women were involved in the study. The mean±SD age of cases and controls was 43.37±11.94 years (range 18-83 years) and 42.04±11.08 years (range 18-84 years), respectively. There were no significant differences between cases and controls with regards to marital status, parity, age at menarche, past oral contraceptive use, age at first last full-term pregnancy and history of breastfeeding. Breast cancer risk was significantly greater in women with a family history of the disease (OR 2.12, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.35-3.31). A significant increase in breast cancer was observed among illiterate women compared to educated women (OR 1.27, CI 1.02-1.58), in premenopausal women and those without occupation.Conclusions: In this study, reproductive factors as early menarche or menopausal status were not associative to the risk of breast cancer and the early age at diagnosis and the positive history of breast cancer suggest a genetic pattern of this disease in Senegalese woman. But this fact is difficult to confirm for financial reasons