PREVALENCE AND SONOGRAPHIC PATTERNS OF UTERINE FIBROID AMONG GHANAIAN WOMEN (Uterine Fibroid- The Ghanaian situation)

                                    Eric Kwasi Ofori^1a , William Kwadwo Antwi¹ ,  Ekow Ansah Arthur ¹ . Edmund Kwadwo Brakohiapa², Benjamin Dabo Sarkodie², Dzefi-Tettey, Klenam², Harriet Obeng^2, Patrick KwadwoAdjei³, Jerry Coleman⁴

^1&2Department of Radiography, University of Ghana, Korle-Bu-Accra, Ghana  ²Radiology Department,  Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Korle-Bu-Accra, Ghana ³Department of Medicine, University of Ghana Medical School, Korle-Bu-Accra

⁴Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Korle-Bu-Accra

E-mail: erikof2001@yahoo.co.uk

ABSTRACT

Uterine fibroid represent a major public health problem and is regarded as the most common benign gynecologic tumors affecting premenopausal women. It is associated with considerable hospitalization and morbidity. The study aimed to establish the prevalence and characteristics of uterine fibroid among Ghanaian women. A retrospective cross-sectional study was carried out to analyze 584 trans-abdomino pelvic ultrasound images and reports of women (aged, 35.03 ± 6.64 years and range 20-74 years). The images and their corresponding reports were analyzed by a team of three sonographers concurrently. The number of fibroid nodules, location in the uterus, sonographic pattern and classification were assessed descriptively and inferentially using the statistical package for Social Scientists version 17. The average number of fibroid nodules, diameter and volume of the largest nodule were estimated as, 3.38 ± 1.30, 4.31cm ± 3.40 and 154.74 cm³ ±473.80 respectively. The study indicated that 24.50% (143/584) of the images evaluated had fibroid. The highest prevalence (53.80%) of the fibroid case was found among women aged 30-39 years and the lowest were recorded among women aged > 49 years. Forty-four (44) percent of the fibroids were intramural with only 5.60 % been submucosal. Most (59.40%) of the fibroids were located within the corpus of the uterus and the most popular (85.3%) pattern of presentation of the nodules was hypoechoic. The prevalence and sonographic pattern of uterine fibroid among Ghanaian women have been assessed which could aid in appropriate surgical interventions and treatment in the country.

Keywords: Uterine Fibroid, Sonographic patterns, Classification