Abstract
BackgroundThere is a paucity of recent prospective data on the incidence of postpartum infections and associated risk factors in sub-Saharan Africa. Retrospective studies estimate that puerperal sepsis causes approximately 10% of maternal deaths in Africa.MethodsWe enrolled 4231 women presenting to a Ugandan regional referral hospital for delivery or postpartum care into a prospective cohort and measured vital signs postpartum. Women developing fever (> 38.0 °C) or hypothermia (< 36.0 °C) underwent symptom questionnaire, structured physical exam, malaria testing, blood, and urine cultures. Demographic, treatment, and post-discharge outcomes data were collected from febrile/hypothermic women and a random sample of 1708 normothermic women. The primary outcome was in-hospital postpartum infection. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine factors independently associated with postpartum fever/hypothermia and with confirmed infection.ResultsOverall, 4176/4231 (99%) had ≥1 temperature measured and 205/4231 (5%) were febrile or hypothermic. An additional 1708 normothermic women were randomly selected for additional data collection, for a total sample size of 1913 participants, 1730 (90%) of whom had complete data. The mean age was 25 years, 214 (12%) were HIV-infected, 874 (51%) delivered by cesarean and 662 (38%) were primigravidae. Among febrile/hypothermic participants, 174/205 (85%) underwent full clinical and microbiological evaluation for infection, and an additional 24 (12%) had a partial evaluation. Overall, 84/4231 (2%) of participants met criteria for one or more in-hospital postpartum infections. Endometritis was the most common, identified in 76/193 (39%) of women evaluated clinically. Twenty-five of 175 (14%) participants with urinalysis and urine culture results met criteria for urinary tract infection. Bloodstream infection was diagnosed in 5/185 (3%) participants with blood culture results. Another 5/186 (3%) tested positive for malaria. Cesarean delivery was independently associated with incident, in-hospital postpartum infection (aOR 3.9, 95% CI 1.5–10.3, P = 0.006), while antenatal clinic attendance was associated with reduced odds (aOR 0.4, 95% CI 0.2–0.9, P = 0.02). There was no difference in in-hospital maternal deaths between the febrile/hypothermic (1, 0.5%) and normothermic groups (0, P = 0.11).ConclusionsAmong rural Ugandan women, postpartum infection incidence was low overall, and cesarean delivery was independently associated with postpartum infection while antenatal clinic attendance was protective.
Highlights
There is a paucity of recent prospective data on the incidence of postpartum infections and associated risk factors in sub-Saharan Africa
Among rural Ugandan women, postpartum infection incidence was low overall, and cesarean delivery was independently associated with postpartum infection while antenatal clinic attendance was protective
Enrollment and demographics Of all eligible women presenting to Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital (MRRH) for care during the study period, over 99% (4235) were enrolled, four withdrew before data collection was performed, for a total enrollment of 4231
Summary
There is a paucity of recent prospective data on the incidence of postpartum infections and associated risk factors in sub-Saharan Africa. Retrospective studies estimate that puerperal sepsis causes approximately 10% of maternal deaths in Africa. Postpartum infection is a leading cause of maternal mortality worldwide. Five million cases of pregnancy-related infection occur every year globally, and approximately 75,000 result in death [1, 2]. Infection incidence is higher in low-resource settings, and many infection-related maternal deaths are preventable [1, 2]. In a retrospective study from Mbarara Uganda, puerperal sepsis accounted for 31% of maternal deaths, making it the most common cause of maternal mortality at that facility [5]
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