Prevalence of pre-operative anemia and associated blood transfusion among obstetrics & gynecological patients in Enugu

Abstract

Background: One of the major preparations before any surgery is to ensure that the patient has adequate blood levels. Anemia, according to the WHO is a common condition in which the number of red cells (and consequently their oxygen carrying capacity) is insufficient to meet the body’s physiological needs. It is diagnosed as hemoglobin concentration of less than 11g/dl and 12g/dl in pregnant and non-pregnant women respectively. However, Nigerian women with hemoglobin levels between 10g/dl and 11g/dl go through pregnancy and surgeries without any apparent ill effects. Aim: To determine the prevalence of pre-operative anemia and associated transfusion among gynecological and obstetric surgical patients in a tertiary hospital Materials & Methods: This a retrospective study of 596 patients who had surgeries in the obstetric and gynecological department of ESUT in 2021 due to various obstetric or gynecological indications. Data was collected with a structured proforma and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences computer software for Windows version 20.0 presented in tables, charts, means, frequencies and percentages. Results: The results of the data analysis are presented in the tables below. Table 1 showed the distribution of the patients according to their age, marital status and occupation. Majority of the patients,209(35%) were above 36 years whereas 141(23.7%) were less than 25 years. Four hundred and three (67.7%) were married whereas 51(8.6) were widowed. Of all 320(53.7) were self-employed whereas 115(19.3%) were unemployed.