Factors associated with surgical repair success of female genital fistula in the Democratic Republic of Congo: Experiences of the Fistula Care Plus Project, 2017-2019

Risk factors for failed fistula closure in Addis Ababa at fistula centre, central Ethiopia

Background

Obstetric Fistula leads to fecal and urine incontinence in women and girls. Surgical repair is the cornerstone of care. Failure to repair an obstetric fistula exposes women not only to repeated surgery but also to ongoing incontinence and its sequela, depression, and social exclusion. Which impacts the nation's health intervention programs and socioeconomic burden.

Objective

To determine factors associated with failed fistula closure in women who underwent Fistula Closure at the Hamlin Fistula Center in Addis Ababa, central Ethiopia, between February 10, 2018, and December 28, 2020.

Methods

Women who underwent Fistula Closure between February 10, 2018, and December 28, 2020 were included in a case-control study that was conducted between May and June 2021. In total, 417 study participants (139 cases and 280 controls) were selected using a systematic random sampling technique. Two professional midwife data collectors and one BSC nurse for the supervisory assessment of women's medical cards utilized a structured questionnaire to collect data. SPSS version 25 was used to enter, clean, and analyze the data. During data analysis, bivariate and multivariate regression models were used. A p-value of less than 0.05 indicates a significant correlation.

Results

Forty-nine patients (35.3%) and 133 controls (47.8%) who were older than 26 years were at repair while they were (14-19 years old). The factors that contributed to failure of fistula closure included age at repair (14-19 years old) [AOR = 2.1, 95% CI (0.94-4.89)], prior fistula attempts (9.6, rural residence [AOR = 2.69, 95% CI (1.36-5.35)], height <150 cm [AOR = 1.80, 95% CI (0.99-3.59)], labor duration longer than 2 days [AOR = 1.89, 95% CI (0.99-3.59)], delivery by cesarean section [AOR = 1.88, 95% CI (1.04-3.89)], damaged urethra [AOR = 2.02, 95% CI (1.04-3.89)], diameter of fistula >3 cm, mild vaginal scar [AOR = 3.20, 95% CI (1.24-8.29)], moderate and severe vaginal scar [AOR = 5.49, 95% CI (1.92-15.75)], and completion of ANC [AOR = 0.20 (0.11, 0.38)].

Conclusion and recommendation

Age at the time of repair, Residence, Height, duration of labor, mode of delivery, completion of ANC, damaged urethra, fistula diameter >3 cm, previous fistula attempts, and vaginal scar are factors related to failure of fistula closure. By focusing on these areas, we can significantly improve the outcomes for patients undergoing fistula repair and lower the likelihood of failed closures in the future. Community-based health education regarding obstetric fistula and the importance of seeing a doctor as soon as possible during labor to lower the risk of obstructed delivery, boost antenatal care completion, and shorten the length of labor are all necessary to prevent failed fistula closure in comparable patients in the future.

Proportions and determinants of successful surgical repair of obstetric fistula in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Obstetric fistula is a serious and debilitating problem resulting from tissue necrosis on the reproductive and urinary and/or lower gastrointestinal tract organs due to prolonged labor. Primary studies of the treatment of obstetric fistulae report significantly variable treatment outcomes following surgical repair. However, no systematic review and meta-analysis has yet estimated the pooled proportion and identified the determinants of successful obstetric fistula surgical repair.

OBJECTIVE

To estimate the proportion and identify the determinants of successful surgical repair of obstetric fistulae in low- and middle-income countries.

METHODS

The protocol was developed and registered at the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (ID CRD42022323630). Searches of PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Scopus databases, and gray literature sources were performed. All the accessed studies were selected with Covidence, and the quality of the studies was examined. Finally, the data were extracted using Excel and analyzed with R software.

RESULTS

This review included 79 studies out of 9337 following the screening process. The analysis reveals that 77.85% (95%CI: 75.14%; 80.56%) of surgical repairs in low and middle-income countries are successful. Women who attain primary education and above, are married, and have alive neonatal outcomes are more likely to have successful repair outcomes. In contrast, women with female genital mutilation, primiparity, a large fistula size, a fistula classification of II and above, urethral damage, vaginal scarring, a circumferential defect, multiple fistulae, prior repair and postoperative complications are less likely to have successful repair outcomes.

CONCLUSION

The proportion of successful surgical repairs of obstetric fistula in low and middle-income countries remains suboptimal. Hence, stakeholders and policymakers must design and implement policies promoting women's education. In addition, fistula care providers need to reach and manage obstetric fistula cases early before complications, like vaginal fibrosis, occur.

Epidemiological, anatomoclinical, and therapeutic profile of obstetric fistula in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: About 1267 patients

OBJECTIVE

Our aim is to describe the epidemiological, anatomoclinical and therapeutic profile of obstetric fistula (OF) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

METHODOLOGY

This was a descriptive retrospective study that collected 1416 obstetric fistulas in 1267 patients in seven provinces of the DRC, treated between January 2017 and December 2022. The variables studied were epidemiological, anatomoclinical and therapeutic.

RESULTS

The mean age of patients at the time of surgical repair was 33.2 years (range: 15 and 77 years) and 32.8% of patients were aged between 20 and 29 years. The mean age of the fistula at repair was 10 years (range: 3.5 months and 56 years). At the time of fistula, 61.7% of patients had delivered vaginally and 28.7% by caesarean section and 8.2% of patients had a haemostasis hysterectomy. Labour lasted at least 3 days in 47.3% of these patients for the fistula birth. Deliveries took place either at home (27.4%) or in a health facility (72.6%); 83.6% of newborns resulting from these births had died. Taken as a whole, urogenital fistulas are more common than genito-digestive fistulas. Urethro-vaginal (26.2%) and vesico-uterine (24.7%) anatomoclinical entities were predominant among urogenital fistulas. A total of 1416 fistulas were surgically repaired in 1267 patients. These repairs were successful for 1226 (86.6%) fistulas. The main surgical route used was transvaginal (68.8%).

CONCLUSION

In the DRC, obstetric fistula is common in young adult women. It often results from vaginal delivery, after prolonged labour. Fistula births often result in the death of newborns. Uro-genital obstetric fistulas are the most frequent with predominance of urethro-vaginal and vesico-uterine anatomoclinical entities. Fistulas remain untreated for a long time. Mostly done transvaginally, surgical repair gives a good result.

Obstetric fistula repair failure and its associated factors among women who underwent repair in sub-Saharan Africa. A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Obstetric fistula repair failure can result in increased depression, social isolation, financial burden for the woman, and fistula care programs. However, there is limited, comprehensive evidence on obstetric fistula repair failure in Sub-Saharan African countries. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine the pooled prevalence of obstetric fistula repair failure and associated factors among women who underwent surgical repair in Sub-Saharan African countries.

METHODS

To identify potential articles, a systematic search was done utilizing online databases (PubMed, Hinari, and Google Scholar). The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Statement (PRISMA) guideline was used to report the review's findings. I2 test statistics were employed to examine study heterogeneity. A random-effects model was used to assess the pooled prevalence of obstetric fistula repair failure, and the association was determined using the log odds ratio. Publication bias was investigated using the funnel plot and Egger's statistical test at the 5% level of significance. Meta-regression and subgroup analysis were done to identify potential sources of heterogeneity. The data were analyzed using STATA version 17 statistical software.

RESULTS

A total of 24 articles with 9866 study participants from 13 Sub-Saharan African countries were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of obstetric fistula repair failure in sub-Saharan Africa was 24.92% [95% CI: 20.34-29.50%]. The sub-group analysis by country revealed that the highest prevalence was in Angola (58%, 95% CI: 53.20-62.80%) and the lowest in Rwanda (13.9, 95% CI: 9.79-18.01%). Total urethral damage [OR  =  3.50, 95% CI: 2.09, 4.91], large fistula [OR = 3.09, 95% CI: (2.00, 4.10)], duration of labor [OR = 0.45, 95% CI: 0.27, 0.76], and previous fistula repair [OR = 2.70, 95% CI: 1.94, 3.45] were factors associated with obstetric fistula repair failure.

CONCLUSION

Women who received surgical treatment for obstetric fistulas in Sub-Saharan African countries experienced more repair failures than the WHO standards. Obstetric fistula repair failure was affected by urethral damage, fistula size, duration of labor, types of fistula, and history of previous repairs. Therefore, we suggest policy measures specific to each country to provide special attention to the prevention of all risk factors, including poor nutrition, multiparty, obstructed labor, and maternal age, which can result in conditions like large fistulas, urethral damage, and repeat repair, in order to reduce obstetric fistula repair failure.

Successful surgical closure and continence rate of obstetric fistula in Africa: systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

A female genital fistula is an abnormal connection between a woman's reproductive tract and her urinary tract or rectum. While numerous studies have aimed to determine the success rate of obstetric fistula closure in different health settings, there remains a significant scarcity of data on closure success rates and incontinence rates for various types of fistulas at the regional and sub-regional levels. The success rate reflects the continent's healthcare setup in regard to the World Health Organization standards. Thus, this study aims to determine the success of surgical closure and the continence rate of obstetric fistula in Africa.

Methods

This systematic review and meta-analysis review includes studies conducted up to February 2023. Search engines like EMBBASE, Medline, Google, PubMed, Google Scholar, African Journals Online, and ScienceDirect databases were utilized to find articles. The Joanna Briggs Institute critical evaluation checklist was used to evaluate the quality of our review, which was conducted in accordance with PRISMA criteria. Heterogeneity was indicated by a p-value for I2 statistics of less than 0.05. Publication bias was assessed using the Egger regression asymmetry test. Data were entered into Microsoft Excel and analyzed using STATA 16.

Result

This review includes 85 studies. A total of 24 countries from East, West, Central, North, and Southern African sub-regions were included. The overall pooled estimated rate of successful obstetric fistula closure is 86.15 (95% CI: 83.88-88.42). Moreover, the pooled estimated rate of successfully closed vesico-vaginal fistulas but with ongoing or residual incontinence (wet) was revealed as 13.41% (95% CI: 11.15-15.68). The pooled estimated rate of successfully closed rectovaginal fistulas and combined VVF and RVF are 91.06% (95% CI: 86.08-96.03) and 62.21% (95% CI: 48.94-75.49), respectively.

Conclusions

The rate of successful obstetric fistula closure in Africa is 86.15, which is higher than the WHO target. However, the surgical closure rate of a combined VVF and RVF is 62.2%, which is significantly lower than the WHO target.

Gynecological Fistulae-Has Anything Changed in the Diagnosis and Treatment over the Last Decade? A Narrative Literature Review

Gynecological fistulae are a rare but severe complication of radiation therapy, pelvic surgery, prolonged labor, cesarean deliveries, or inflammatory bowel diseases. A gynecological fistula is an abnormal pathway formed between the urinary and gynecological tract, most commonly located between the urinary bladder and vagina. Vesico-uterine and vesicovaginal fistulae are an important health issue, common in women of reproductive age in developing countries with limited access to obstetrical care. Various surgical techniques have been described for VVF repair, depending on the location, severity, and cause of the fistula and the surgeon's experience. The purpose of our review was to evaluate the present state of knowledge about the prevalence and treatment of gynecological fistulae. The PubMed scientific database was searched for original articles on the subject of gynecological fistulae that had been published between 2013 and 2023.

Repair failure and associated factors among women who underwent obstetric fistula surgery in Southwest Ethiopia: A retrospective study

BACKGROUND

Surgical repair is one of the management strategies for obstetric fistulae, which are associated with tragic obstetric morbidities.

OBJECTIVE

This study assessed the proportion of repair failures and associated factors among women who underwent obstetric fistula surgery at the Mettu Hamlin Fistula Center.

DESIGN

This study is an institution-based, retrospective, cross-sectional design.

METHODS

This study included 385 patients who underwent obstetric fistula repair surgery at the Mettu Hamlin Fistula Center between 2015 and 2020. Participants were selected using a simple random sampling technique. EpiData version 3.1 and STATA version 14.2 were used for data entry and analysis, respectively. The association between obstetric fistula failure and independent variables was tested using binary logistic regression analysis. In the bivariable analysis, a p-value of less than 0.25 was used as a cut-off point to include variables in the multivariable logistic regression analysis. The statistical significance was finally set at a p-value of less than 0.05.

RESULTS

Of the 385 participants who underwent obstetric fistula surgical repair, about 18.2% (95% confidence interval = 14.6-22.3) failed to close. Larger fistula size (>3 cm) (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 4.6; 95% confidence interval = 2.34-8.91), urethral damage (adjusted odds ratio = 2.8; 95% confidence interval = 1.47-5.44), home delivery (adjusted odds ratio = 5; 95% confidence interval = 2.56-9.77), and malnutrition (body mass index <18.5 kg/m2) (adjusted odds ratio = 2.7; 95% confidence interval = 1.10-6.79) were variables significantly associated with obstetric fistula repair failure.

CONCLUSION

Obstetric fistula repair failure was lower in the area compared to the majority, but not all, of previous findings. Home delivery, damaged urethra, larger fistula size, and lower body mass index increased the probability of repair failure. To prevent repair failure early, it is necessary to strengthen pre- and post-operative care, including the assessment of women's nutritional status, fistula size, and urethral injury. Moreover, maternal care providers should educate mothers about the negative outcomes of home deliveries.