Informed Consent Prior to Elective Gynaecological Surgery in Two Reference Hospitals in Yaoundé, Cameroon: A Mixed Methods Study

Introduction: Informed consent is a process that enshrines respect for patients’ autonomy, their dignity, and their rights to determine what happens to their own bodies. We set out to describe the surgical informed consent process and evaluate its quality in patients undergoing elective gynaecological surgeries in two University Teaching Hospitals in Yaounde, Cameroon. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, prospective study over 9 month period, from October 1st, 2018, to June 30th, 2019 at the Yaounde Gynaeco-Obstetric and Paediatric Hospital (YGOPH) and the Yaounde Central Hospital (YCH). By administering a modified Brezis questionnaire 48 hours after surgery, we obtained data which enabled us to evaluate and score the informed consent process and obtained written reports of patients’ appreciation of key aspects of the informed consent process prior to surgery. We then called each participant 6 months after their surgery date to obtain information on the occurrence or not of post-operative complications. Results: We recruited 72 patients aged 24 to 68 years old (61 at YGOPH, 11 at YCH). The operating gynaecologist sought patient consent in 65.3% (49/72) of cases, while 61.1% (44/72) of the subjects would have loved to have more information on surgical risks;69.4% (50/72) were satisfied with the consent process;and 56.9% (41/72) could recall and repeat the information they received prior to surgery. While 37.5% (27/72) had poor quality (non-valid consent), 40.3% had good quality consent (valid). Consent administered by the gynaecologist (OR = 0.172;95% CI = 0.060 - 0.049) was a strong determinant of valid consent. Also, patients with non-valid consent significantly reported more complications (OR = 4.469;95% CI = 1.412 - 14.147) than those with valid consent. Conclusion: Informed consent prior to elective gynaecological surgeries in our study was poor. The timing of the consent process, as well as the person involved in the process affect the validity of the consent.

Patient Satisfaction after Elective Major Gynaecological Surgery in 2 Reference Hospitals in Yaounde: A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction: Patient satisfaction is a quality-of-care measure and reveals patients’ appreciation of healthcare delivery. We sought to measure patient satisfaction following major gynaecological surgeries in 2 University Teaching Hospitals in Yaounde, Cameroon. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional, prospective study over 9 months (October 1st, 2018, to June 30th, 2019) at the Yaounde Gynaeco-Obstetric and Paediatric Hospital (YGOPH) and the Yaounde Central Hospital (YCH). By administering a modified Surgical Satisfaction Questionnaire (SSQ-8) via phone call 6 months after surgery, we appreciated and scored key aspects linked to patient satisfaction and obtained information on post-operative complications. Data were analysed using Microsoft Excel 18 and SPSS 21 setting significance at p Results: We recruited 72 patients aged 24 to 68 years. Our participants had a mean satisfaction score of 26 ± 7.854 (59.7% satisfied and 40.3% dissatisfied). All aspects tested on the SSQ-8 questionnaire influenced patient satisfaction. Patients who said they were satisfied with pain control after surgery (OR = 0.207 CI = 0.070 - 0.609, p = 0,003), and with surgical results in the SSQ-8 questionnaire (OR = 0.053, CI = 0.011 - 0.254, p < 0.001) achieved statistically significant post-operative satisfaction. Contrarily, patients who were dissatisfied with surgery results (OR = 132.000, CI = 15.256 - 114.131, p < 0.001) and those who developed complications (OR = 7.922, CI = 2.241 - 28.004, p < 0.001) were significantly dissatisfied with surgery. Additionally, 47.2% declared a poor post-operative current health status versus 52.8% who claimed a good post-operative current health status. Following multivariate analysis, satisfaction with the results of surgery (OR = 0.071, CI = 0.008 - 0.657, p = 0.020) and the occurrence of complications (OR = 7.284, CI = 1.146 - 46.273, p = 0.035) were the main determinants of patient satisfaction. Patient current health status evolved similarly to patient satisfaction and especially by satisfaction with time taken to resume work (OR = 0.039, CI = 0.004 - 0.398, p = 0.006) and pre-operative exercise routine (OR = 0.038, CI = 0.002 - 0.678, p-value = 0026). Conclusion: Patient satisfaction with elective gynaecological surgery is low and determined by post-operative experiences and the occurrence of complications. Also, patients self-reported current health status tends to evolve similarly to satisfaction following surgery.

Iatrogenic Lesions of the Ureter Following Obstetric or Gynaecological Surgery Managed at Yalgado Ouedraogo University Hospital: A Series of 14 Cases

Objective: To describe the aetiology, clinical presentation, management and outcomes of a series of patients with iatrogenic lesions of the ureter following obstetric or gynaecological surgery treated at Yalgado Ouedraogo University Hospital, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Methods: This is a case series looking at 14 consecutive patients from 1 January 2011 to 28 February 2017, operated on for urological complications following obstetric and gynaecological surgery. Results: Our study focused on fourteen cases. The average age was 32.9 years (range 20 - 60 years). Thirteen were housewives. Eleven lived in rural areas. The aetiological factor was Caesarian section in seven cases, laparotomy in four cases and hysterectomy in three cases. The type of ureteral injury was bilateral ligation in nine cases. The average time to diagnosis was 16 days (range 2 - 120 days). Anuria was the commonest presenting symptom. Ultrasound in ten patients showed evidence of uretero-hydronephrosis. Eight patients required renal dialysis. Surgical management was uretero-vesical re-implantation in eleven cases, disunion of sutures associated with catheterization in two cases and a termino-terminal ureteral anastomosis in one case. The average hospital stay was 26 days (range 9 - 44 days). The post-operative period was complicated by two cases of vesico-vaginal fistula, one case of parietal suppuration, one case of pyelonephritis and one case of hydronephrosis. No deaths were recorded and a complete cure was ultimately obtained in all patients. Conclusion: Urological complications of obstetric and gynaecological surgery are dominated by ligation of the ureters in our setting. Caesarian section is the commonest cause. Treatment is essentially surgical.

Influence of Gynaecologic Adnexal Surgeries on Subsequent Ovarian Function and In Vitro Fertilization Treatment Outcome

Objective To investigate the correlation between gynaecologic adnexal surgery history and pregnancy outcome of in vitro fertilization （IVF） treatment. Methods A total of 810 women who were proceeded 810 IVF; treatment cycles from October 2009 to March 2011 were recruited to this retrospective study, based on whether they had history of gynaecologic adnexal surgeries or not. Among 810 women, 587 women had no gynaecologic adnexal surgeries （group A）, 223 women had gynaecologic adnexal surgeries （group B）. Additionally, the group B was further divided into 4 subgroups based on their different gynaecologic adnexal surgery histories, such as tubal conservative surgery （group Bal）, unilateral salpingectomy （group Ba2）, ovarian cyst ablation （group Bbl） and unilateral adnexal resection （group Bb2）. The basal levels of FSH, antral follicle count （AFC）, clinical pregnancy rate （CPR）, embryos implantation rates （IR） and live birth rates （LBR） were compared.Results The levels of FSH and AFC were significantly different between groups A and B, respectively. Therefore, CPR, IR and LBR were significantly lower （P 〈0.05） in group B （30.9%, 17.8% and 25.1%） compared with group A （39.9%, 22.8% and 32.4%）. Meanwhile, there was no significant difference between the patients who had tubal conservation surgery （group Bal） and who had unilateral salpingectomy （group Ba2）. However, in contrast to unilateral adnexectomy, ovarian cystectomy surgery influenced FSH and AFC significant, even for the number of oocyte retrieved, but did not affect the IVF treatment outcome. Conclusion The previous history of gynaecologic adnexal surgeries may affect the subsequent ovarian function and also IVF outcomes. As for different operation methods, between tubal conservation surgery and unilateral salpingectomy, the IVF outcomes were not significantly different. The same result we found in different ovarian operation groups.