Ectopic pregnancy in Sokoto, Northern Nigeria

Ectopic pregnancy is an important cause of maternal mortality and morbidity in the first trimester of pregnancy. We report a descriptive, cross-sectional study of ectopic pregnancy presenting to the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH), Sokoto, between 1990 and 1997. There were 140 cases of ectopic pregnancy with incidence of 18.1 per 1,000 deliveries. The mean age of patients was 26.7 years and the median parity of cases of ectopic gestation was 1; 32% were nulliparae. Abdominal pain and tenderness were the most frequent symptom and sign respectively. Diagnosis was usually based on clinical findings augmented by procedures including paracentesis abdominis, abdominal ultrasound scan and urine pregnancy test. The ectopic pregnancy was sited in the Fallopian tube in 92% of cases. In 56 cases (41%), there was macroscopic evidence of previous pelvic infection at surgery. 66% of ectopic pregnancies had ruptured at presentation. Treatment was surgical in all but one case, and unilateral salpingectomy was the procedure most frequently performed. The case fatality rate was 1.5%. Malawi Medical Journal Vol.17(1) 2005: 14-1