Clinical presentation of inguinal hernia among adults in Uyo, Nigeria

Inguinal hernia is a common pathology seen by the general surgeon in the outpatient clinic. Its spectrum of clinical features on presentation significantly varies from the asymptomatic to the complicated.

To identify and audit the common clinical presentation and presence of known risk factors for inguinal hernia among adult patients with inguinal hernias presenting to an outpatient clinic.

The study involved adults presenting over 1 year at a surgical clinic with a clinical diagnosis of inguinal hernia. Data on age, sex, family history, abdominal pain, constipation, chronic cough, previous hernia surgery as well as features of bladder outlet obstruction and intra-abdominal mass were recorded into a format. Analysis into a simple percentage, mean, and standard deviation was done with SPSS version 17 (SPSS Inc. Chicago, IL, USA).

Sixty-five patients were enrolled in the study, comprising 49 males (75.4%) and 16 females (24.6%), M:F = 3:1. The mean age was 45.6 years (SD ± 16.9). The 16-40-year age group had the highest incidence of 29 cases (44.6%) of inguinal hernia. A family history of inguinal hernia (31 cases [47.7%]) and history of previous inguinal hernia surgery (15 cases [23.1%])) was observed. Ten patients with previous surgery presented with a contralateral hernia and 5 with a recurrence. Other factors were chronic constipation 10 cases, smoking 9 cases, chronic cough 8 cases, dysuria 7 cases, enlarged prostate 6 cases, abdominal mass 4 cases, and urethral stricture 1 case.

Inguinal hernia is common among young and middle-aged adults in our series. Many patients have features suggestive of complications at presentation. Family history and past inguinal hernia surgery were important risk factors.