The prevalence, risk factors and the management outcome of placenta praevia at Federal Teaching Hospital Gombe: A 5-year retrospective study

Abstract

Background: Placenta praevia is one of the main causes of antepartum haemorrhage, which may be associated with severe maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality, especially in developing countries. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence, risk factors and the feto-maternal outcome of placenta praevia among patients managed in Federal Teaching Hospital Gombe, Northern Nigeria. Methodology: This was a retrospective study where all cases of placenta praevia managed in Federal Teaching Hospital Gombe, over 5 years, from January 1st 2017 to December 31st 2021 were analyzed using SPSS V 20. Results: There was a total of 11,937 deliveries during the study period and 63 cases of placenta praevia were managed, giving an incidence of 1.9%. Also, a total of 2,907 Caesarean deliveries were done during this period, and placenta praevia cases contributed 2.2% of the CS. About half of the cases also (47.4%) were asymptomatic and diagnosed incidentally with routine ultrasound scan while painless vaginal bleeding (32.2%) and warning bleeds (20.4%) were the other noted symptoms. The commonest risk factors noted in this study were previous dilatation and curettage (28.6%), previous CS and multiparity (22.6%) each. The fetal complications noted in this study were low birth weight (13.2%), birth asphyxia (10.3%) and 2.9% had intrauterine fetal death. Maternal complications were postoperative anaemia 55.4%, shock 7.7%, and 1.5% had peripartum hysterectomy. There was no maternal mortality noted in this study. Conclusion: Placentae previa is fairly common at our Centre and associated maternal and perinatal morbidities. Therefore, routine late obstetric ultrasound scan should be performed to diagnose it in women with risk factors so that they can receive optimal care.