Post-abortion endometritis-myometritis and HIV infection

The objective was to explore if HIV-1 infection is a risk factor for post-abortion endometritis-myometritis (PAEM) in an urban hospital in Kampala, Uganda. HIV-1 seroprevalence in women with and without post-abortion infection was established using two standard enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Fifty-two women with PAEM and 106 without PAEM infection were recruited. The HIV-1 seroprevalence was 17 (32.7%) among women with PAEM and 38 (36.5%) among women without post-abortion infection. HIV infection was not found to correlate with the risk for PAEM. HIV-1 seroprevalence in both groups was double that among antenatal clients in the same hospital, 14.6% in 1997. Life-threatening infections such as septicaemia, peritonitis and pelvic abscesses were observed among 12 cases (23%). HIV-1 infection was not shown to be a risk factor for PAEM, but women with abortions with and without PAEM have a higher prevalence of HIV-1 than antenatal clients.