Abdominal pregnancy at the University College Hospital, Ibadan: a ten-year review

Abstract

Fourteen cases of abdominal pregnancy managed at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria, over a ten-year period (January 1994 to December 2003) were reviewed. The incidence ratio of abdominal pregnancy was one in 654 deliveries. It accounted for 4.3% of ectopic pregnancies. Age range was 20 to 43 years; 63.4% of the patients were unemployed and 50% were nullipara. Pre-operative diagnosis was possible only in half of the cases. Only two patients with advanced pregnancies and live fetuses (14.3%) were allowed to have conservative management while the others had immediate laparotomy. Live birth rate was 7.1%, but overall fetal survival rate was 0%. Fetal malformations were common, with talipes equinovarus and jaw abnormalities occurring in 49.2% and 14.3% respectively. Twelve patients (85.7%) who had complete removal of the placenta, though lost more blood, had better outcome than those with placenta left in-situ. The case fatality rate was 7.1%.