Uterine fibroid and pregnancy outcomes in Khartoum Teaching Hospital, Sudan

Objectives: To investigate the effect of uterine fibroids on pregnancy outcomes. Methods: This case-control study was conducted in the Khartoum Hospital, Sudan, during June 2011 and through May 2012. Cases were pregnant women who have uterine fibroids, diagnosed by ultrasound scan or discovered accidentally during caesarean section. One consecutive pregnant woman who have no uterine fibroids per case acted as control. We included all pregnant women who attended the labour ward, or planned for either normal NMJ Nov. 2015 vol.3 No.17 ISSN 1858-6155 or operative delivery, in the hospital, during the study period, and accepted to participate in the study. Results: Using logistic regression analyses there was significant association between: delayed to conceive (CI= 2.9 – 11.1, OR= 5.7, P= <0.001), miscarriage (CI= 3.7 – 18, OR= 26.4, P= 0.001), experience of pain during pregnancy necessitating hospital admission (CI= 4.1 – 25.7, OR= 10.3, P= <0.001), antepartum haemorrhage (CI= 0.01 – 0.5, OR= 0.07, P= 0.010), uterine atony (CI= 0.02 – 0.56, OR= 0.1, P= 0.008), need for blood transfusion as a result of uterine atony (CI= 0.8 –6.5, OR= 2.2, P= 0.032), and uterine fibroids in pregnancy, compared to women without uterine fibroids. Pregnancy with uterine fibroids also had a higher unplanned caesarean section rate (CI= 0.1 –0.8, OR= 0.3, P= 0.014), but there was no differences in perinatal outcomes (Delivery at term, living births, birth weight, and preterm birth. between the two groups of the study. Conclusion: Uterine fibroids increase the risk of adverse obstetrics outcomes during pregnancy and childbirth in a varying ways. This information can be used to aid counselling and risk-stratifying patients.