Vaginal bleeding in early pregnancy at a regional-level emergency department in KwaZulu-Natal
Journal of the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa
| Field | Value | |
| Title | Vaginal bleeding in early pregnancy at a regional-level emergency department in KwaZulu-Natal | |
| Creator | Maseko, Mthunzi Pillay, Seelan Govender, Jaykumaran | |
| Description | Background: Vaginal bleeding in early pregnancy (VBIEP) affects between 15% and 25% of all pregnancies worldwide and it portends life-threatening gynaecological emergencies. One of the core functions of an emergency medicine physician is to recognise critical illness and institute high-quality emergency care. This study aimed to describe the demographics, clinical presentation, management and outcomes of patients with VBIEP presenting to the emergency department (ED).Methods: Retrospective descriptive data were collected on all patients presenting to the ED of General Justice Gizenga Mpanza Regional Hospital (GJGMRH) with VBIEP between 01 January 2022 and 30 April 2022.Results: The most affected group comprised multiparous women, in the first trimester of pregnancy between the ages of 25 and 29 year. Among HIV-positive participants majority (40.9%) were aged 35–39 years of age. Majority (87%) of patients had received no prior antenatal care. Incomplete miscarriage was the most (46.1%) common diagnosis made in the ED. Most (61.7%) patients from the ED required admission to the hospital for further care.Conclusion: This study showed that multiparous women in their first trimester of pregnancy are at highest risk of VBIEP. It also highlighted early antenatal care and early use of point-of-care ultrasound may prevent and improve outcomes with VBIEP. Incomplete miscarriage was the commonest cause. A standardised management protocol for these patients should be developed, however larger studies must be conducted to validate this.Contribution: This study contributes to the limited literature on VBIEP in low to middle-income countries and the findings may influence the department of health’s allocation of resources to this condition. | |
| Publisher | AOSIS | |
| Date | 2025-02-25 | |
| Identifier | 10.4102/jcmsa.v3i1.162 | |
| Source | Journal of the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa; Vol 3, No 1 (2025); 6 pages 2960-110X 3105-4331 | |
| Language | eng | |
| Relation |
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:
https://jcmsa.org.za/index.php/jcmsa/article/view/162/455
https://jcmsa.org.za/index.php/jcmsa/article/view/162/456
https://jcmsa.org.za/index.php/jcmsa/article/view/162/457
https://jcmsa.org.za/index.php/jcmsa/article/view/162/458
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