Prevalence of Gallstones among Pregnant Women Using Ultrasound in Port Harcourt
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55677/IJCSMR/V3I7-03/2023Keywords:
Ultrasound, prevalence, gallstones, gallbladder disease, pregnancyAbstract
Background: Gallstones disease constitute a common health problem that may require surgical intervention. Pregnancy is a very important pathogenetic factor favoring gallstone development and symptomatic gallstone disease is the second most common surgical abdominal emergency in gravid women. Ultrasonography is a non-invasive, reproducible and affordable procedure that can be used to evaluate the gallbladder for gallstones.
Aims and Objectives: To sonographically determine the prevalence of gallstone in pregnant women in Port Harcourt, to assess characteristics of gallbladder disease among pregnant women, and to illustrate any association with gallbladder wall thickness.
Methodology: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study, involving 316 apparently healthy pregnant subjects in Port Harcourt. Subjects underwent ultrasonographic examination of the gallbladder over a 12-month period.
Data Analysis: Data were analyzed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS), version 21 for windows. Result was presented using frequency tables and pie chart. Categorical variables were summarized using frequency and percent while continuous variables summarized using mean and standard deviation. The chi-squared statistics was used to test for association. Binary logistic regression model was used to test the strength of association. The level of statistical significance was set at p<0.05.
Results: A total of 316 pregnant women constituted the study group. The age of the study group was between 19 to 46 years with a mean age of 31.9 ± 4.8 years. Majority of the age group was 30-39 years (n=203, 64.2%). Of the 316 subjects, 9 (2.8%) had gallstones while 307 (97.2%) had no sonographic evidence of gallstones. Also, of the 9 subjects with gallstones, 2 (22.2%) were nulliparous, 3 (33.3%) were primiparous and 4 (44.4%) were multiparous, however no significant association between the presence of gallstone and parity. Also, no significant association between pregnancy and gallbladder wall thickness was found.
Conclusion: Prevalence of gallstone among pregnant women in Port Harcourt is 2.8%. The presence of gallstones increased with increase in parity and no significant association between pregnancy and gallbladder wall thickness was demonstrated.
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