Uterine ruptures during labor: a study of 26 cases at Nabil Choucair Medical Center, in the suburbs of Dakar

Background: This study aims to clarify the epidemiological profile of patients and describe the diagnostic, therapeutic and prognostic aspects of uterine ruptures at Nabil Choucair Health Center, in the suburbs of Dakar.Methods: This was a retrospective and prospective, descriptive and analytical study conducted over a period of 112 months, from July 31, 2005 and March 31, 2015; it concerned all diagnosed cases with uterine rupture, managed at Nabil Health Center Choucair Dakar. Data were collected from antenatal notebooks, delivery records, surgical reports and anesthetic records. The following parameters were studied: socio-demographic characteristics (frequency, chracteristics of patient), the course of pregnancy, diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic aspects. Data analysis was performed using SPSS software (version 11.0).Results: During the study period, we recorded 26 uterine ruptures from a total of 34,097 deliveries, that is a frequency of 8 out of 10,000 births. The epidemiological profile of the patients was that of a 30-year old woman, on average, few previous deliveries with an average parity of 3, who received on average 3 antenatal and evacuated in 50% of cases. Uterine rupture occurred in 17 patients on a new uterus (65, 4%) and in 9 patients on a scarred uterus (34.6%). Two patients (7%) were in hemorrhagic shock. A laparotomy aimed at specifying the place of rupture and making the treatment was performed in all patients. It was 18 uterine segmento-corporeal ruptures (69.2%), 5 segmental ruptures (19.2%) and 2 corporeal ruptures (7.6%). We recorded 9 uterine ruptures with living fetus (38.5%). Twenty-three patients (88.5%) underwent conservative suture against only 3 hemostasis hysterectomy (11.5%). The postoperative courses were uneventful in 57.7% of cases. Eleven patients (42.3%) had anemia and we recorded maternal deaths, which is a maternal mortality of 3.84%.Conclusions: Uterine rupture is a serious complication that is still responsible for significant maternal and fetal mortality. Prevention is based on careful monitoring of pregnancy and delivery