ArticleBMC women's health2024
HEAL Africa score to predict failure of surgical repair of obstetric urethro-vaginal fistula in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Article in BMC women's health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 citations in OpenAlex.
- Twelve Years of Managing Female Urogenital Fistula in Uganda: Characteristics, Repair Outcomes, and Predictors for Success in a Multicentre Cohort Study.International urogynecology journal · 2026Article
- Epidemiological profile, clinical characteristics, and surgical outcomes of genital fistula repair in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo: FisPro DRC Experience.The Pan African medical journal · 2026Article
- LUSSY score predictive of failure of surgical closure of obstetric rectovaginal fistula in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.Reproductive health · 2025Article
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10 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
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Abstract
introductionObstetric fistula (OF) repair surgery aims to restore the anatomical and functional integrity of the urinary tract, allowing affected women to regain their dignity and quality of life. However, in some cases, this surgical repair may fail. The objective of this study was to develop a predictive score to identify factors associated with the failure of surgical repair of obstetric urethro-vaginal fistula (FSROUVF) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
methodsThis is an analytical cross-sectional study of 358 patients with obstetric urethro-vaginal fistula (OUVF) who received surgical repair. We conducted bivariate and multivariate analyses. Score discrimination was assessed using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, C-index, and score calibration according to the Hosmer-Lemeshow test.
resultsSurgical repair of OUVF failed in 24.86% of cases (89/358). After logistic modelling, 6 criteria predicted FSROUVF: the use of intravaginal indigenous products (AOR = 3.59; 95% CI: 1.51-8.53), the presence of fibrosis (AOR = 6.37; 95% CI: 1.70-23.82), the presence of 2 or more fistulas in the same patient (AOR = 7.03; 95% CI: 3.14-15.72), the total urethral damage (AOR = 3.29; 95% CI: 1.36-7.95), the fistula size > 3 cm (AOR = 5.65; 95% CI: 2.12-15.01), and the postoperative infection (AOR = 351.10; 95% CI: 51.15-2409.81). A score of 0 to 14 was obtained, with a value ≤5 points indicating a low risk of FSROUVF, a value between 6 and 8 indicating a moderate risk, and a value ≥9 points corresponding to a high risk of FSROUVF. The area under the ROC curve of the score is 0.938 with a sensitivity of 60.67%, a specificity of 96.28%, a positive predictive value of 84.38%, and a negative predictive value of 88.10%.
conclusionWe report a FSROUVF rate in the DRC approaching a quarter of operative patients. Predictors of failure included fibrosis, presence of 2 or more fistulas, total urethral involvement, fistula size greater than 3 cm, postoperative infection, and use of intravaginal indigenous products. These factors are constitutive of the HEAL Africa score, which once validated, may have value in pre-operative counselling of patients. This study could be valuable for policy and strategies to address the problem of OUVF in the DRC and in resource limited settings more generally.
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