Comparing adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes in adolescent versus adult mothers in Sub-Saharan Africa.

OBJECTIVE: Adolescent pregnancy is a major social and public health problem that burdens affected families, the communities and societies globally. It has been associated with a higher prevalence of adverse pregnancy outcomes compared to pregnancy in adults. To compare adverse pregnancy outcomes in adolescents (13-19 years) and those in adults (20 to 35 years) at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, Ghana and investigate the associated factors among adolescents. METHODS: This comparative study involved 110 adolescents (13-19 years) and 220 adults (20 to 35 years) who delivered at the Maternity Unit of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital between November 2016 and February 2017. Participants were recruited using the convenience sampling method. After study protocol was explained to the parturient, informed voluntary consent and assent were obtained. Participants who met the inclusion criteria were recruited in the study. Sociodemographic characteristics, antenatal and delivery records; and maternal and perinatal outcomes were collected using an interviewer administered questionnaire and the participants' records. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 16.0. RESULTS: The prevalence of adolescent pregnancies during the study period was 5.1%. Compared to adults, adolescents were about 3 times more likely to have eclampsia although preeclampsia occurred more in adults. Adolescents that resided in sub-urban dwellings were more likely to have an adverse perinatal outcome compared to their adult counterparts. CONCLUSION: Our study found that, in addition to their socioeconomic and biophysical disadvantages, adolescents were likely to have exceptionally high risk of eclampsia.

Disseminated adult Wilms tumor in pregnancy: Leveraging multidisciplinary care in a low-resource setting.

Wilms tumor (WT) occurring in adults is rare and even much more rarely found to coexist with pregnancy. Clinical outcome in adults is worse overall compared with pediatric patients with WT and is often misdiagnosed with no standardized protocols for care guided by high-evidence clinical trials. We present a case of a 23-year-old woman diagnosed with WT who was found to be pregnant immediately following nephrectomy. Workup findings showed that she had disseminated disease but was successfully managed in a multidisciplinary team setting with modified intrapartum chemotherapy followed by postpartum chemotherapy. In low-resource settings, management protocols for adult patients with WT can be individualized by multidisciplinary teams to leverage available resources for best outcomes.

Maternal mortality at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana: A five-year review.

Maternal death is a major global health issue with the highest impact in low-income countries. Despite some modest decline in the maternal mortality rates in Ghana since the 1990's, this has been below expectation. The aim of this study was to describe the trends and contributory factors to maternal mortality at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH), Accra, Ghana. We performed a retrospective chart review of all maternal deaths at KBTH from 2015 to 2019. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 23. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Over the period, there were 45,676 live births, 276 maternal deaths and a maternal mortality ratio of 604/100,000 live births (95% CI: 590/100,000 - 739/100,000). The leading causes of maternal death were hypertensive disorders (37.3%), hemorrhage (20.6%), Sickle cell disease (8.3%), sepsis (8.3%), and pulmonary embolism (8.0%). Significant factors associated with maternal mortalities at the KBTH were: women with no formal education [AOR 3.23 (CI: 1.73- 7.61)], women who had less than four antenatal visits [AOR 1.93(CI: 1.23-3.03)], and emergency cesarean section [AOR 3.87(CI: 2.51-5.98)]. Hypertensive disorders remain the commonest cause of the high maternal mortality at KBTH. Formal education and improvement in antenatal visits may help prevent these deaths.