Potential pathogens in the lower genital tract at manual vacuum aspiration for incomplete abortion in Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Ghana

Objectives: To determine the carriage rates of potential pathogens in the lower genital tract and factors associated with colonization among women with incomplete abortion. Design: A cross-sectional study. Setting: The Manual Vacuum Aspiration room of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana. Subjects: Two hundred women undergoing Manual Vacuum Aspiration at the Korle- Bu Teaching Hospital. Methods: Eligible patients were screened for the presence of organisms in the lower genital tract by microscopy and culture of high vaginal and endocervical swabs. Results: Nearly two-thirds of the patients (64.2%) had potential pathogens in the lower genital tract. Bacterial vaginosis alone was present in 47% and a combination of bacterial vaginosis and Candida albicans was present in 17.2%. Residence in an urban slum showed a significant association with the presence of potential pathogens (Odds ratio 2.6; p-value 0.04). Conclusion: Organisms responsible for bacterial vaginosis were the most frequently isolated potential pathogens in the cervical canal of patients with incomplete abortion at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital. Management of these patients should therefore include antibiotic prophylaxis against bacterial vaginosis. East African Medical Journal Vol.81(8) 2004: 398-401