Ectopic pregnancy at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos, South-Western Nigeria: Temporal trends, clinical presentation and management outcomes from 2005 to 2014

Background: There is uncertainty in the trend of ectopic pregnancy incidence in the Southwest region, though the region has a lower fertility rate and a higher contraceptive use than some other regions of Nigeria. The study objective was to determine the temporal trends, presentation and management outcome of ectopic pregnancy at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Lagos, South-Western Nigeria over a decade. Subjects and Methods: This is a retrospective study of ectopic pregnancies at LUTH, Lagos, Nigeria, from January 2005 to December 2014. Participants' medical records were used to extract socio-demographic, clinical characteristics, management and outcome data. Joinpoint regression modelling (version 4.7.1) was used to evaluate the trends while descriptive statistics were conducted using Stata version 14 software. Results: There were 434 cases of ectopic pregnancies giving an overall incidence of 2.2/100 deliveries and 3.50/100 gynaecological admissions. Overall, there was a 59.7% increase in the ectopic pregnancy rate from 1.81/100 deliveries in 2005 to 2.89/100 deliveries in 2014. Join point regression revealed two trends. There was an initial non-significant decrease in incidence of ectopic pregnancy from 2005 to 2010 (annual percent change [APC] = -1.5%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: -8.1% to 5.6%, P = 0.6). However, there was a statistically significant increase in incidence of ectopic pregnancy at an average of 11.6% per annum from 8.6/100 deliveries in 2011 to 25.4/100 deliveries in 2014 (APC = 11.6%, 95% CI: 1.2% to 23.1% P < 0.001). About one-third (33.9%) of the patients with ectopic pregnancy were within the age range 25-29 years while the majority (68.0%) presented at 9-10 weeks of gestational age. The most common identifiable risk factor was previous pelvic infection (35.71%). Majority (96.5%) had tubal pregnancy and all the cases had laparotomy. There were six maternal deaths giving a case fatality rate of 1.4%. Conclusion: The hospital had an increased trend in the incidence of ectopic pregnancy from 2005 to 2014. Frontline health workers need high index of suspicion in the prompt diagnosis and intervention of ectopic pregnancy among women in the reproductive age.