Placental Abruption at a Tertiary Hospital in Southern Nigeria: A Six-Year Review of Prevalence, Trend and Sociodemographic Characteristics

Background: Placental abruption also known as abruptio placentae or accidental haemorrhage, is the second most common cause of antepartum haemorrhage after placenta praevia. The study was aimed at reviewing cases of placental abruption managed at the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital (RSUTH) over a 6-year period, to determine the prevalence, trend, and sociodemographic/obstetrics factors. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of all recorded cases of placental abruption managed at the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital (RSUTH) from 1st January 2016 to 31st December 2021. Descriptive statistics were derived using IBM, Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) version 25.0 Armonk, New York. Results: There were 14,195 deliveries and 68 cases of placental abruption; giving a prevalence of 0.48% or 4.8 per 1000 or 1 in 208 deliveries. The rate of placental abruption per 1000 deliveries increased from 2.0 in 2016 to 8.7 in 2018 and then decreased to 6.2 in 2021. The mean (SD) age and gestational age of the participants were 32.7±4.8, (95%CI: 31.5, 33.9) years and 35.6 ±3.2 (95%CI: 34.8,36.4) weeks. The modal parity was para 1. Over 90% of the participants had emergency caesarean sections. The majority 65(95.6%) of the participants were Christians, 56(82.4%) booked and more than half 37(54.4%) were multipara. Conclusion: The prevalence of placental abruption in RSUTH is 0.48%; with a declining pattern of occurrence. It occurred more among booked multiparous women. This Knowledge will be helpful to Clinicians in management of Placental Abruption.