%0 Journal Article %T Socio-demographic and delivery characteristics of patients with obstetric fistula in Haut-Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of Congo %J Iranian Journal of Colorectal Research %I Shiraz University of Medical Sciences %Z 2783-2430 %A Nesambi, Joseph B %A Mukuku, Olivier %A Kakudji, Prosper L. %A Kakoma, Jean-Baptiste S.Z. %D 2019 %\ 09/01/2019 %V 7 %N 3 %P 1-5 %! Socio-demographic and delivery characteristics of patients with obstetric fistula in Haut-Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of Congo %K Obstetric fistula %K Socio-demographic %K delivery %K Haut-Katanga %R %X Background: In developing countries, fistulae are generally caused by long obstructed labors. Obstetric fistula (OF) is a severe condition which can have devastating consequences for a woman’s life.Objective: Describe the socio-demographic and delivery characteristics of patients with OF in Haut-Katanga province in the DRCongo.Methods: This is a prospective descriptive study of 413 patients with OF in Haut-Katanga province during the period from September 2009 to December 2018.Results: At fistula occurrence, 53.3% of patients were younger than 20 years (mean age: 21.3 ± 6.7 years) and 65.8% were primiparous. More than half had primary education and 39.7% were illiterate; 70.2% of the patients were separated or divorced. Fistula developed after delivery at home in 239 (57.9%) of 413 women. A total of 393 (95.2%) women developed fistula after vaginal delivery. A total of 387 (93.7%) of the 413 women reported that the fetus did not survive the labor during which fistula developed. 92.3% had a vesico-vaginal fistula and the mean age of fistula was 6.5 years. Surgical repair was successful in 82.9%.Conclusion: Obstructed labor remains the most important cause of OF in Haut-Katanga. It is important to prevent OF arising from obstructive causes. The surgical treatment of OF will depend upon the type, size and location of fistula. %U https://colorectalresearch.sums.ac.ir/article_45846_9b0c57769b802b408eadb9587a82d937.pdf