Good oral health is important in pregnancy but little is known about the oral health and knowledge and practices of pregnant Sudanese women. This cross-sectional study was conducted to address this gap. A sample of 420 pregnant women attending the prenatal clinic at Omdurman maternity hospital were interviewed and examined for caries and periodontal disease. The mean age of the women was 27.1 (SD 5.8) years, 52.4% had > primary school education and 7.1% were employed. Only 12% had a high level of oral health knowledge and 21.2% a positive attitude towards oral health. Most of the women (65.9%) had poor oral health practices; only 10.2% had visited a dentist during pregnancy. On clinical examination, 58.6% had healthy gums while 12.1% had bleeding gums and 22.9% had calculus. The mean decayed, missing and filled teeth value was 1.16 in the age group 16−19 years and 3.49 in age group ≥ 20 years. These findings suggest the need for oral health programmes as part of prenatal care for pregnant Sudanese women. RÉSUMÉ Une bonne santé bucco-dentaire est importante en période de grossesse, mais peu d'informations sont disponibles sur l'état de santé bucco-dentaire, les connaissances et les pratiques des femmes enceintes soudanaises en la matière. La présente étude transversale a été conduite afin de combler cette lacune. Un échantillon de 420 femmes enceintes de la clinique prénatale de la maternité de l'hôpital d'Omdourman ont été interrogées et examinées afin de déterminer si elles souffraient de caries et de parodontopathies. L'âge moyen des femmes étaient de 27,1 ans (ET 5,8) ; 52,4 % avaient suivi un enseignement primaire, et 7,1 % avaient un emploi. Seulement 12 % d'entre elles avaient une bonne connaissance de la santé bucco-dentaire, et 21,2 % démontraient une attitude positive en la matière. La majorité des femmes (65,9 %) avaient de mauvaises pratiques d'hygiène bucco-dentaire, et seulement 20 % s'étaient rendues chez un dentiste au cours de leur grossesse. À l'examen clinique, 58,6 % avaient des gencives saines, contre 12,1 % qui souffraient de saignements gingivaux et 22,9 % qui avaient du tartre dentaire. La moyenne de l'indice CAO (dent cariée, absente ou obturée) était de 1,16 pour le groupe d'âge des 16-19 ans, et de 3,49 pour le groupe d'âge des 20 ans et plus. Ces résultats laissent penser qu'il existe un besoin en programmes de santé bucco-dentaire dans le cadre des soins prénatals pour les femmes enceintes soudanaises. ‫درمان‬‫املتوسط‬ ‫لرشق‬ ‫الصحية‬ ‫املجلة‬ ‫العرشون‬ ‫و‬ ‫الثاين‬ ‫املجلد‬ ‫عرش‬ ‫احلادي‬ ‫العدد‬ 803

Gynaecological malignancies contribute to the global burden of diseases and are of public health interest. The objective of this study was to determine the pattern of distribution of gynaecological malignancies seen between 1 January 2002 and 31 December 2006, at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, Nigeria. It was a retrospective descriptive study. A total of 166 cases of gynaecological malignancies were encountered, cervical cancer was the most common (59.6%). This was followed by ovarian cancer (21.1%), trophoblastic tumour (7.8%) and corpus uteri cancer (6.0%). Others included cancer of the vulva (3.6%) and cancer of the vagina (1.8%). Squamous cell carcinoma accounted for 96.0% of cervical cancers. Epithelial tumours represented 60.0% of ovarian cancers, and serous cyst adenocarcinoma was the most common histological variety. All the vulval and vaginal cancers were of squamous cell type. In conclusion, genital malignancies are common and cervical cancer remains the leading gynaecological malignancy in this centre.

The MMR was high and tetanus in puerperium emerged as an indirect cause of maternal deaths. There is a need to curb the emergence of tetanus in the puerperium as a cause of maternal death.

No abstract