EPIDEMIOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT OF UTERINE FIBROIDS IN PATIENTS OF THE TEACHING HOSPITAL OF COCODY-ABIDJAN

Bleu Gomé Michel*, Loué Védi André, Zougrou N’Guessan Ernest, Kossonou Kossia Eugénie and Kouakou Koffi

ABSTRACT

Uterine fibroids are a public health problem affecting women worldwide. The objective of this work was to carry out an epidemiological study of uterine fibroids and their management in patients of the teaching hospital of Cocody-Abidjan. It was a retrospective descriptive and analytical study which concerned 145 women carrying uterine fibroids. Data were collected from the register, patient files and operative reports and recorded on survey forms which included sociodemographic characteristics, medical and surgical history, gynaeco-obstetric history, reasons for consultation, clinical examinations and treatments. Results showed that the prevalence of uterine fibroids in this hospital was 2.4%. The age range 30-45 years and the blood group O+ were the most affected in women with the rates of 67.6% and 43.8% respectively. High blood pressure (15.9%) and myomectomy (7.5%) were mainly recorded concerning the medico-surgical history while gynaeco-obstetric history revealed the predominance of nulliparous (42.1%) and caesarean section (57.9%) for childbirth. The reason for consultation included genital haemorrhage dominated by metrorrhagia (64.5%) and complications such as anaemia (42.1%), pelvic pain (13.5%) and abdominal pain (9.2%). The majority of patients underwent ultrasound (97.9%) which showed that patients presenting a polymyomatous uterus (76.5%) and those with submucosal fibroids (39.7%) predominated. For the treatment, progestins were the most prescribed drugs (43.9%) and myomectomy was the preferred surgical treatment (50.6) for patients. Intraoperative bleeding was the main complication of surgical interventions (53.8%) which required blood transfusion. In conclusion, uterine fibroids affect the quality of life of women and measures must be taken by the public authorities for better management of this disease.

Keywords: uterine fibroids, epidemiology, genital haemorrhage, treatment, myomectomy.