HIV status and knowledge of cervical cancer among women in Ghana.

BACKGROUND: Cervical cancer remains a disease of significant concern to women's health. The aim of this study was to identify predictors of knowledge of cervical cancer among women living with HIV and those with negative or unknown HIV status at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital (CCTH). METHODS: This study was based on a larger hospital-based analytical cross-sectional study conducted at the antiretroviral therapy (ART) and gynaecology clinics of the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital in Ghana. Participants were women living with HIV (WLHIV) and women without HIV or whose status was unknown, aged 25 to 65 years, seeking healthcare. Data were collected with a questionnaire and analysed using frequencies, percentages, Chi-square test, binary logistic regression and multivariate analysis. RESULTS: The mean age was 39.5 years (± 9.8) and 47.2 years (± 10.7) for women without or unknown HIV and WLHIV, respectively. HIV-negative/unknown women were mostly nulligravida (76%) and nullipara (69%), while WLHIV mostly had pregnancies (76%) and children (84%) in excess of seven. Knowledge of cervical cancer was statistically significantly associated with HIV status (X2 = 75.65; P-value = 0.001). The odds of having knowledge of cervical cancer for women considered to be negative/unknown for HIV were about three times (AOR = 3.07; 95% CI = 1.47, 6.41) higher than their compatriots with HIV. Women with post-secondary/tertiary (AOR = 4.45; 95% CI = 2.11, 9.35) education had significantly higher odds of having knowledge of cervical cancer than those with no education or those with just primary education. CONCLUSIONS: To improve knowledge of cervical cancer among women, an intentionally structured health education programme is needed, particularly for WLHIV, those with lower levels of education and the unemployed.

An intervention to increase cervical cancer screening among women living with HIV: A mixed methods study.

OBJECTIVE: We examined the effectiveness of a behavioral intervention in promoting cervical cancer screening among women living with HIV (WLWH) in Ghana. METHODS: A Mixed-methods study was conducted involving 83 WLWH, who were randomly assigned to an intervention group (n = 42) to receive voice-recorded messages based on the 3 R model (Reframing, Reprioritizing, and Reforming) or a control group (n = 41) to receive standard care. The primary outcomes were screening uptake and HPV prevalence. Other outcomes were the acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility of the intervention. RESULTS: The intervention group had a 100% screening rate, and the control group had a 14.63% screening rate. The prevalent rate of high-risk (hr)-HPV genotypes among the women was 67.5% (95%C.I: 0.56-0.77). Over 48% of the participants had multiple hr-HPV genotypes, 64.29% had HPV16/18/45%, and 73.21% had HPV 31/33/45/52/58. Of the women (89.30%) who screened positive, 60% of them were diagnosed and treated for pre-cancer lesions. The intervention messages were acceptable (encourage proactive behavior), feasible (simple, easy to understand), and appropriate (helpful, informative). Facilitators and barriers to self-sampling were identified. CONCLUSION: Combining the 3 R model with self-sampling increases cervical cancer screening among WLWH. PRACTICE IMPLICATION: Healthcare professionals and policymakers can use this model to increase cervical cancer screening.

Cervical Microbiota Influences Cytokine Diversity in Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia among Rural Women in the Akyemansa District of Ghana.

Background: In recent times, cervical dysbiosis which mostly causes and aggravates infections is highlighted for its role in immune modulation in cervical dysplasia, which promotes the shifting of Th1 phenotype immunity to Th2 phenotype immunity. This study therefore estimated and compared the levels of circulatory IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α, and IFN-γ cytokines among adult women identified to have different grades of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and with cervicovaginal infection. Methods: A total of 157 participants were recruited from the Akyemansa District of Ghana, and cervical swabs and blood samples were taken. The Pap smear test, microbiological culture, and ELISA were employed for cytology analysis, bacteria isolation, and identification and estimation of IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α, and IFN-γ cytokines, respectively. Results: Overall, 14/157 (8.9%) had CIN with 7.6% having CIN 1 and 1.3% having CIN 2. The main predictor for CIN was age above 46 years (OR 11.16, 95% CI: 2.4-51.8). Bacterial vaginosis (p = 0.003) and Candida infection (p = 0.012) were significantly higher in CIN. Again, Staphylococcus aureus (60% vs. 17.6%, p = 0.005), Citrobacter sp. (40.0% vs. 13.2%, p = 0.017), and Morganella morganii (40.0% vs. 4.4%, p = 0.002) isolates were significantly higher in CIN-positive participants. IL-10 and TNF-α concentrations were elevated in participants with CIN 1+ (TNF-α NIL vs. CIN 1+ only, p < 0.05) while IL-6 was decreased among participants with CIN 1+. In the presence of vaginal infection, TNF-α decreased among CIN 1+ participants while IL-10 remained elevated. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that cervical dysbiosis causes immune suppression, which creates a suitable microenvironment for the development of CIN.

High-risk human papillomavirus genotype distribution among women living with HIV; implication for cervical cancer prevention in a resource limited setting.

BACKGROUND: For women living with HIV (WLHIV), the burden of persistent HPV infection, cervical pre-cancerous lesions and cancer have been demonstrated to be higher than among HIV-negative women. As Ghana and other lower-middle-income countries (LMIC) work toward developing national cervical cancer programmes, it is essential that local scientific evidence be provided to guide policy decisions, especially for such special populations. The objective of this study was to determine the distribution of high-risk HPV genotype and related factors among WLHIV and its implication for the prevention of cervical cancer prevention efforts. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital in Ghana. WLHIV, aged 25-65 years, who met the eligibility criteria were recruited through a simple random sampling method. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to gather socio-demographic, behavioural, clinical and other pertinent information. The AmpFire HPV detection system (Atila BioSystem, Mointain View, CA was used to detect 15 high-risk HPV genotypes from self-collected cervico-vaginal samples. The data collected were exported to STATA 16.0 for statistical analysis. RESULTS: In all, 330 study participants, with mean age of 47.2 years (SD ± 10.7), were involved. Most (69.1%, n = 188/272) had HIV viral loads < 1000 copies/ml and 41.2% (n = 136) had ever heard of cervical screening. The overall hr-HPV prevalence was 42.7% (n = 141, 95% CI 37.4-48.1) and the five commonest hr-HPV types among screen positives were HPV59 (50.4%), HPV18 (30.5%), HPV35 (26.2%), HPV58 (17%) and HPV45 (14.9%). Most infected women (60.3%, n = 85) had multiple hr-HPV infections, with about 57.4% (n = 81) having 2-5 h-HPV types, while 2.8% (n = 4) had more than five hr-HPV types. A total of 37.6% (n = 53) had HPV16 and/or18, while 66.0% (n = 93) had the hr-HPV genotypes covered by the nonavalent vaccine. Women with HIV viral load ≥ 1000copies/ml (AOR = 5.58, 95% CI 2.89-10.78, p < 0.001) had a higher likelihood of being co-infected. CONCLUSION: This study found out that the prevalence of hr-HPV still remains high in women with HIV, with a notable occurrence of multiple infections and infection with genotypes 16 and/or18. Additionally, an association was established between hr-HPV and infection HIV viral load.. Therefore, comprehensive HIV care for these women should include awareness of cervical cancer, consideration of vaccination and implementation of screening and follow-up protocols. National programmes in LMIC, such as Ghana, should consider using HPV-based screen-triage-treat approach with partial genotyping.

Age of first diagnosis and incidence rate of uterine fibroids in Ghana. A retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Uterine fibroids are benign tumors that grow in or on the uterus of women. Globally, they occur in more than 80% of women of African ancestry and 70% in white women. Uterine fibroid requires much attention because of its high incidence rate among women of all races and ages. This study sought to document the age of first diagnosis and incidence rates of uterine fibroids in our urban setting. METHODS: This study reviewed and analyzed the ages and year of diagnosis of all 2,469 patients with the first diagnosis of uterine fibroids from 1st January 2018 to 31st December 2021 in South-Central Ghana. The obtained data were analyzed using GNU PSPP, Python on Jupyter Notebook and Libre Office Calc with statistical significance level set at p≤0.05. RESULTS: The overall average age was 36.29±8.08 years, with age range 17-61 years and the age groups with the highest frequencies were 35-39 years (n = 642, 26.00%), 30-34 years (n = 563, 22.80%) and 40-44 years (n = 381, 15.43%). The mean ages of the patients in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 were 36.70±8.00 years (95%CI = 35.97-37.43), 37.07±7.66 years (95%CI = 36.45-37.70), 35.92±7.87 years (95%CI = 35.30-36.53) and 35.78±8.54 years (95%CI = 35.19-36.38) respectively. The incidence rate (per 100,000) of uterine fibroids in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 were 66.77 (95% CI = 60.63-72.90), 81.86 (95%CI = 75.19-88.58), 85.60 (95%CI = 78.85-92.35) and 92.40 (95%CI = 85.88-98.92) respectively, with 35-39 age group recording the highest in all years. CONCLUSION: The incidence rate of uterine fibroids increased as the years progressed and it is mostly high in 35-39 years age category, with a decreasing annual mean age trend indicative of early diagnosis.

Cervical cancer prevention methods: awareness and use among urban Ghanaian women in Cape Coast, West Africa.

Background: Cervical cancer is the fourth most frequent malignancy and common cause of mortality in women worldwide, despite being one of the most preventable female cancers. Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess the awareness and knowledge of patients about cervical cancer prevention methods and the use of these methods by women in an urban setting. Method: A cross-sectional study design was employed. A census was conducted to include all women (n = 153) who met the inclusion criteria and attended the gynaecology clinic of the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital from May to July 2022 for various gynaecological reasons. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire adapted from the Cervical Cancer Knowledge Prevention-64. Results: The mean age was 40.0 years and ranges between 18 and 78 years. The majority of study participants had at least a secondary school level of education (78.8%), and almost all had at least a primary school education (95.4%). Most of the respondents (64.7%) were not aware of cervical cancer. Among those who had awareness, 64.8% of them knew about the existence of prevention methods; pap smear was the most common known method of prevention. There was a statistically significant association between the respondent's educational level and knowledge of the existence of cervical cancer prevention methods and the usage of pap smear. Only 16.3% of our study population has ever used a preventive method. Conclusion: More than half of the participants were not aware of cervical cancer and its preventive methods, and those who were aware had insufficient knowledge, which translated to very low usage of cervical cancer preventive methods. There is an urgent need to intensify public education on cervical cancer.

Health Systems Factors Associated With Adverse Events Among Hospitalized Obstetric Clients in a Tertiary Health Care Facility in Ghana.

OBJECTIVES: The risk of an adverse event (AE) in obstetric clients receiving care in hospitals is greater than the risk of dying in aviation, road traffic accidents, and breast cancer. There is little understanding of AEs with respect to their causes at hospitals. The study aimed at assessing factors that are associated with the occurrence of AEs among hospitalized obstetric clients in a tertiary hospital in Ghana. METHOD: This was a case-control study of 650 obstetric clients (equal number in both arms) who were admitted between January 1 and December 31, 2015, at the study site. A retrospective review of the clients' medical records was randomly allocated into both arms of the study. Descriptive and inferential statistics including confirmatory factor analysis were performed. Models were evaluated for goodness-of-fit measures. The reliability and validity of the scale were also tested using Cronbach α coefficient. RESULTS: The mean gestational age of the clients was 37.4 ± 4.9 weeks. Leadership and governance (inadequate use of protocol and adherence) accounted for the most cause of AEs among obstetric clients. The overall Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin score was also 0.87. The scale also demonstrated high reliability (Cronbach α = 0.995; composite reliability > 0.7) and validity (average variance extraction > 0.50). There was a marginal model fit (root mean square error of approximation, 0.067), and the χ2 test was statistically significant (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Inadequate use of protocol and adherence is a major cause of preventable AEs identified in this study. There is an urgent need to address this to ensure a reduction in the prevalence of AEs among obstetric clients.

A ten-year review of indications and outcomes of obstetric admissions to an intensive care unit in a low-resource country.

INTRODUCTION: Obstetric intensive care unit admission (ICU) suggests severe morbidity. However, there is no available data on the subject in Ghana. This retrospective review was conducted to determine the indications for obstetric ICU admission, their outcomes and factors influencing these outcomes to aid continuous quality improvement in obstetric care. METHODS: This was a retrospective review conducted in a tertiary hospital in Ghana. Data on participant characteristics including age and whether participant was intubated were collected from patient records for all obstetric ICU admissions from 1st January 2010 to 31st December 2019. Descriptive statistics were presented as frequencies, proportions and charts. Hazard ratios were generated for relations between obstetric ICU admission outcome and participant characteristics. A p-value <0.05 was deemed statistically significant. RESULTS: There were 443 obstetric ICU admissions over the review period making up 25.7% of all ICU admissions. The commonest indications for obstetric ICU admissions were hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (70.4%, n = 312/443), hemorrhage (14.4%, n = 64/443) and sepsis (9.3%, n = 41/443). The case fatality rates for hypertension, hemorrhage, and sepsis were 17.6%, 37.5%, and 63.4% respectively. The obstetric ICU mortality rate was 26% (115/443) over the review period. Age ≥25 years and a need for mechanical ventilation carried increased mortality risks following ICU admission while surgery in the index pregnancy was associated with a reduced risk of death. CONCLUSION: Hypertension, haemorrhage and sepsis are the leading indications for obstetric ICU admissions. Thus, preeclampsia screening and prevention, as well as intensifying antenatal education on the danger signs of pregnancy can minimize obstetric complications. The establishment of an obstetric HDU in CCTH and the strengthening of communication between specialists and the healthcare providers in the lower facilities, are also essential for improved pregnancy outcomes. Further studies are needed to better appreciate the wider issues underlying obstetric ICU admission outcomes. PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: This was a review of the reasons for admitting severely-ill pregnant women and women who had delivered within the past 42 days to the intensive care unit (ICU), the admission outcomes and risk factors associated with ICU mortality in a tertiary hospital in a low-resource country. High blood pressure and its complications, bleeding and severe infections were observed as the three most significant reasons for ICU admissions in decreasing order of significance. Pre-existing medical conditions and those arising as a result of, or aggravated by pregnancy; obstructed labour and post-operative monitoring were the other reasons for ICU admission over the study period. Overall, 26% of the admitted patients died at the ICU and maternal age of at least 25 years and the need for intubation were identified as risk factors for ICU deaths. Attention must be paid to high blood pressure during pregnancy.