Cesarean delivery technique among HIV positive women with sub-optimal antenatal care uptake at the Douala General Hospital, Cameroon: case series report

Thomas Obinchemti Egbe,Jacques Ernest Nyemb,Charlotte Nguefack Tchente,George-Fulbert Mangala Nkwele,Eugene Belley-Priso,Esther Mathio Barla

doi:10.1186/s13104-017-2639-0

Thomas Obinchemti Egbe, Jacques Ernest Nyemb + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-017-2639-0

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Abstract

BackgroundThe human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) pandemic is a serious public health problem worldwide, especially in low-income countries of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) is a major concern to those countries. Cesarean section has been described in the literature to be effective in the prevention of mother to child transmission (MTCT).Case series presentationWe present a series of seven cases of HIV positive pregnant women with sub-optimal antenatal care up-take who delivered by cesarean section at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the Douala General Hospital. During the cesarean section the fetal head was delivered through the uterine incision without rupture of amniotic membranes. The amniotic membranes were ruptured after delivery of the fetal head, and then the rest of the body was delivered.ConclusionsMost of the study participants had multiple risk factors for preterm labour. When a good cesarean section technique is used in women with high viral load and low CD4 counts, risk of MTCT HIV are greatly reduced even in low-income countries.

Highlights

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) pandemic is a serious public health problem worldwide, especially in low-income countries of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)
When a good cesarean sec‐ tion technique is used in women with high viral load and low CD4 counts, risk of mother to child transmission (MTCT) HIV are greatly reduced even in low-income countries
This study aims at describing the cesarean section technique employed among HIV-positive women with sub-optimal antenatal care (ANC) uptake at the Douala General Hospital, Cameroon

Summary

Introduction

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) pandemic is a serious public health problem worldwide, especially in low-income countries of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) is a major concern to those countries. During the cesarean section the fetal head was delivered through the uterine incision without rupture of amniotic membranes. The amniotic membranes were ruptured after delivery of the fetal head, and the rest of the body was delivered. Access to cesarean section is an indication of effective emergency obstetric care [3]. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is considered a chronic disease in the developing world, at a time when life expectancy is approaching that of the economically developed countries [4, 5].

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