The Relationship Between Self-treatment of Genital Infection and Ectopic Pregnancy

Abstract Introduction: One of the contributing factors in ectopic pregnancy is genital infection. The self-treatment of genital infections is a common practice that results in infectious diseases, microbial resistance, and no patient recovery. Objective: This study aimed to determine the relationship between the self-treatment of genital infection and ectopic pregnancy. Materials and Methods: This case-control study was performed on 373 women in 2018. Samples included 180 normal pregnant women (the control group) and 193 women with ectopic pregnancies with histories of genital infections (the case group). The samples were selected by a convenient sampling method. The study data were collected by a researcher-made questionnaire containing demographic questions and 36 questions about self-treatment of genital infections, drug type, and reasons to use self-medication. Descriptive statistics, the Chi-square test, and the logistic regression model were used to analyze the obtained data. Results: In the present study, 373 eligible people were included. The mean ± SD age of women with ectopic pregnancies (the case group) was 33.37 ± 4 years and of women with normal pregnancy (the control group) was 33.21 ± 3.18 years. The frequency of ectopic pregnancy in women over 35 years was higher than that in women with normal pregnancies. The frequency of individuals who used self-medication to eliminate the vaginal infection in the control group and the case group were 76.7% and 48.9%, respectively. The frequency of individuals who used traditional methods (washing the vagina with ice or baking soda was 64.39% with the highest percentage), and 115 women (35.6%) used chemical methods (vaginal douching with the highest percentage). Self-medication was independently associated with higher odds of ectopic pregnancy (OR = 2.227, 95%CI; 1.316-3.769, p= 0.003). Conclusion: The results of this study show that self-medication for vaginal infections can be a risk factor for ectopic pregnancy. Therefore, the community should be educated to avoid the self-medication of genital infections.