Prevalence of utero-tubal infertility

Tubal factor infertility is the commonest cause of infertility seen in gynaecological clinics in Nigeria. This, to a large extent, is a preventable cause of infertility. The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence of utero-tubal factors in the causation of infertility. This is a prospective descriptive study of infertile women seen at the gynaecological clinic of the Federal Medical Centre Gombe from June 1999 to May 2002. A total of 229 infertile women were studied. The prevalence of primary and secondary infertility was 37.1% and 62.9%, respectively. Tubal factor was the cause in 67.2% and cervical factors contributed to 19.2%. The women were aged 17-44, with a mean of 28.6 +/- 5 years. There were four (1.7%) teenagers and eight (3.5%) women were aged 40 years or above. The majority, 55% (126), were in their third decade, with those aged 20-34 years constituting 86% (197) of patients. The high prevalence of tubal factor infertility in our environment is unacceptable. Primary prevention of reproductive tract infections and syndromic management of STD will go a long way in reducing the high prevalence of tubal factor infertility.