A 5-Year Retrospective Study on the Use of Manual Vacuum Aspiration in the Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki

Abstract

Introduction: Since the inception of our hospital in 2011, manual vacuum aspiration has been in use for the treatment first trimester miscarriages. Hence there is a need for operational review on its use. Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate the determinants and outcome of Manual Vacuum Aspiration (MVA) use in our hospital. Method: This was a retrospective study on the use of MVA for various indications in our facility over a 5-year period. Results: There were 625 (19.7%) manual vacuum aspirations among 3179 gynaecological patients seen during the period. The age range of the women was from 15 to 48 years and the mean age was 28.5 ± 5.3 years. Incomplete abortion was the commonest indication for the use of MVA and accounted for 89.9% of cases. Other indications for the use of MVA include missed miscarriage (1.8%), and blighted ovum (1.8%). The complications were uterine perforation (0.3%), infection (3.7%) and severe anaemia (10.7%). The mean total hospital stay was 1.6 ± 0.6 days. Overall, 267 (42.7%) patients were managed as a day case. Conclusion: Manual vacuum aspiration is an effective tool in the management of early pregnancy complications. It is a safe, easily performed and possibly cost-effective procedure, with advantages for both the patient and the health care system.