Epidemiologic profile of women presenting to the National Hospital of Niamey, Niger for vaginal fistula repair.

OBJECTIVE

To describe the epidemiologic profile of women with vaginal fistulas presenting to the surgical mission trips of the International Organization for Women and Development (IOWD) at the National Hospital of Niamey, Niger.

METHODS

In a cross-sectional retrospective study, data were assessed from a database of women who attended the IOWD at the National Hospital of Niamey, Niger, from October 2003 to April 2009. The database was compiled from the history and physical examination forms for each patient visit.

RESULTS

During the study period, there were 1323 data entries and 896 initial patient visits. Overall, 580 women presented with obstetric fistulas. The median age was 29 years; the mean age at marriage was 16 years; 73.7% were married. The median age at first delivery was 18 years; the mean number of past full-term pregnancies was 3; the mean parity was 4. Vaginal (66.3%) or cesarean (27.7%) delivery was a common predisposing factor for developing an obstetric fistula. Overall, 97.4% of women labored for 24 hours or more; 75.4% delivered in hospital; 82.9% had a stillbirth.

CONCLUSION

Women presenting to the IOWD for fistula repair have specific epidemiologic characteristics. Better understanding of these characteristics might help to formulate future public health programs for fistula prevention.