Abstract
BackgroundUterine inversion is a rare but known complication following parturition and may prove fatal due to neurogenic shock or postpartum hemorrhage if not corrected immediately. The incidence is variable, occurring in 1 in 2000 to 1 in 50,000 deliveries, as reported in the past. Nowadays, the incidence is declining due to better antenatal care and increasing institutional deliveries. However, in a developing country such as India, due to cultural and financial reasons, most of the deliveries are still being conducted by untrained birth attendants (“dais”) who have sparse knowledge of oxytocic drugs. Hence, proper education and training should be imparted to the traditional birth attendants and local village health practitioners about the management of labor, placental delivery, timely diagnosis, and proper management of uterine inversion to avoid this grave complication. We report this case because only a limited number of such cases have been reported so far with delayed presentation of chronic uterine inversion 8 months after delivery as a result of the negligence of an untrained birth attendant.Case presentationWe report a case of a patient with chronic uterine inversion presenting 8 months after childbirth as a result of ignorance at the time of delivery. A 22-year-old P1L1 (Para 1 Live 1) Asian woman of Punjabi ethnicity presented to our institute with a progressively increasing painless vaginal mass along with blood-stained vaginal discharge for the last 6 months and progressive dyspareunia (pain during intercourse) for the last 5 months that had worsened with time. She had experienced a full-term normal vaginal delivery at home 8 months earlier with the assistance of an untrained birth attendant (dai). Her history revealed that she had an unduly prolonged second stage of labor and was given aggressive fundal pressure due to inadequate bearing-down efforts and had collapsed after delivery but was managed conservatively by an untrained birth attendant. A provisional diagnosis of chronic uterine inversion was made on the basis of vaginal findings of a globular mass protruding from the cervix and approaching the vagina with thinning of the cervix around the mass, forming a tight constriction ring, in addition to ultrasound findings. The patient’s condition was corrected surgically using Haultain’s approach. She had a satisfactory outcome and was discharged symptom-free.ConclusionAwareness of this complication with timely diagnosis and prompt management can significantly minimize maternal morbidity and mortality, especially in a low- and middle-income country such as India, where 70–80% of deliveries still occur in a rural setting with untrained birth attendants.
Highlights
Uterine inversion is a rare but familiar obstetric complication after parturition and can be life-threatening if not attended to immediately [1]
Garg and Bansal Journal of Medical Case Reports (2020) 14:143 (Continued from previous page). Awareness of this complication with timely diagnosis and prompt management can significantly minimize maternal morbidity and mortality, especially in a low- and middle-income country such as India, where 70–80% of deliveries still occur in a rural setting with untrained birth attendants
Acute uterine inversion is an emergency that can be managed nonsurgically if detected in a timely manner, chronic uterine inversion almost always requires elective surgery, either abdominally (Haultain’s or Huntington’s method) or vaginally (Spinelli’s or Kustner’s method). We report this case because only a limited number of such cases have been reported so far with delayed presentation of chronic uterine inversion at 8 months after delivery as a result of negligence by an untrained birth attendant
Summary
Chronic uterine inversion usually occurs following parturition, which might have been missed at the time of delivery in our patient’s case. The incidence of uterine inversion is very low nowadays due to better antenatal care and institutional deliveries, the possibility of its occurrence cannot be negated. Awareness of this complication, especially among untrained birth attendants, may prevent improper management and such complications causing prolonged agony in the patient. Authors’ contributions Both the authors were involved in patient management, taking consent from the patient, and writing of the case report. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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