MISCARRIAGE IN A TERTIARY HEALTH CENTRE IN NORTHERN NIGERIA: A REVIEW OF PROFILE, CAUSES AND OUTCOME

Dr. Ahmed Yakubu, *Dr. Garba Jamila Abubakar, Prof. Panti Abubakar Abubakar, Dr. Nasir Asma’u Muhammad, Prof. Tunau Karima Abubakar and Dr. Ibrahim Rukayya

ABSTRACT

Background: Miscarriage is one of the unfortunate outcomes of early pregnancy associated with significant emotional and psychological trauma. Aim: To identify the common causes and complications of miscarriages managed at Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto. Methodology: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study of cases of miscarriage managed at Usman Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto between January 2013 and December 2014. The case files were retrieved and relevant information obtained. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 21. Level of significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: The most common type of miscarriage was incomplete miscarriage (59.7%). The cause of miscarriage was not identified in majority of cases (45.3%). However, the most common identified cause was malaria in 39.7% of the subjects followed by urinary tract infection (UTI) in 14.4% of the subjects. There was significant association between malaria and parity, P < 0.001. It was found that malaria was the commonest cause of miscarriage among nulliparae (49.7%). Most of the subjects (79.2%) did not have any complication. However, the commonest complication observed was anaemia, which was identified in 17% of the cases. Conclusion: Malaria was the commonest identified cause of miscarriage; hence there should be prompt diagnosis and treatment of malaria among pregnant women in order to avoid the deleterious effect on pregnancy.

Keywords: .Miscarriage, Profile, Causes, Outcome.