Abstract:
BACKGROUND: Pelvic organ prolapse is the down ward descent of female organs including the
bladder, small and large bowel resulting in protrusion of the vagina, uterus or both. It is a disorder
exclusive to women and one of the most common indications for gynecologic surgery.
METHODS: This hospital based retrospective descriptive study was conducted to assess the magnitude of
pelvic organ prolapse and risk factors for it. All cases of pelvic organ prolapse admitted and treated in
Jimma University Specialized Hospital from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2011 were included. The collected
data were analyzed using SPSS computer software version 16.0. Chi-square test was used and was
considered to be significant when p<0.05.
RESULTS: Pelvic organ prolapse accounted for 40.7% of major gynecologic operations. Mean age of
patients was 42.43 ± 10.4 years and there was a significant association between prolapse and age of
patients (p <0.05). Mean parity of patients was 6.5± 2.64 with a significant association between prolapse
and parity (p < 0.05). Majority of them (80.6%) lived in rural area and there was a significant association
between prolapse and residence area. Farmers accounted for 68.2% of the patients and there was a
significant association between prolapse and occupation (p < 0.05). Risk factors identified were chronic
cough (20.9%), constipation (30.2%) with some having more than one risk factor while none was
identified in 59.7%.
CONCLUSION: Prolapse is common among rural, farmer, parous and older women where most of them
delivered at home with prolonged labor. Age, parity and occupation were associated with the stage of
prolapse. Awareness creation on risk factors of pelvic organ prolapse and use of contraception to reduce
parity is recommended. Health institution delivery should be advocated to minimize the rate of home
deliveries and hence of prolonged labor
