A thirteen - year retrospective review of the management of cervical incompetence using cervical cerclage at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Borno State, Nigeria

Abstract

Cervical incompetence, defined as the inability of the cervix to support a pregnancy to term due to a functional or structural defect of the cervix, is an important obstetric condition. The pregnancy outcome of patients with cervical incompetence can be improved with the application of cervical cerclage. Objectives: To determine the prevalence and risk factors of cervical incompetence and pregnancy outcome following insertion of cervical cerclage. Methodology: This was a hospital-based descriptive retrospective study that reviewed all cervical cerclages performed for cervical incompetence at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) over 13 years. (January 2011 and December 2023). The data obtained included sociodemographic characteristics of the study patients, risk factors for cervical incompetence, and pregnancy outcomes. Data management and statistical analysis were performed using SPSS version 25. Results: The prevalence of cervical cerclage was 9.1/1000 deliveries, and the mean age of the study population was 30± 6.3 years, and the mean parity was 2.5±1.5. All the patients (100%, 56/56) were married, and 37.5% (21/56) were housewives. The identified risk factor in the majority of the cases studied was the previous history of manual vacuum aspiration, 46.4% (26/56), and following insertion of cervical cerclage, 46.4% (26/56) of the study patients had term live births. Conclusion: Cervical incompetence is not uncommon in our environment, and the pregnancy outcome of the patients can be improved using cervical cerclage.