[Thinking about the evolution of caesarean section rate at University Teaching Hospital of Dakar between 1992 and 2001].
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study is to answer the question: have we not been doing a lot of caesarean sections at University Teaching Hospital of Dakar?


METHODS
This is an analytic study about caesarean section in 1992, 1996 and 2001; it was a prospective and longitudinal data collection from the epidemiological survey program carried through in Senegal about its obstetrical and surgical cover. For each year concerned, we have analysed caesarean section rate, maternal mortality rate and perinatal mortality rate. To eliminate the random part in observed variation, we used the comparison of proportions observed as a statistical test with a significant threshold less or equal to 5%.


RESULTS
Caesarean section has gone from 12% in 1992 to 17.5 in 1996 and 25.2% in 2001. Operative indications are dominated by foeto-pelvic disproportion with an average of 31% and foetal suffering with an average of 25%. The increasing trend has been statistically significant for information's such as foeto-pelvic disproportion and maternal pathologies. The falling trend was statistically significant for indications in relation on relation to foetal suffering and scarred uterus. Gathering information has shown a stabilisation of "obligatory" caesarean rate around 41%, a decrease in "caution" caesarean rate from 50 to 37.2% and an increase in caesarean by "necessity" from 8.6 to 22.4%. The maternal mortality rate among women delivered has fallen from 1.4% to 0.8%, but postoperative surgery morbidity rate was still high around 10%, essentially due to infections. Reading of caesarean section rate has not a significant impact in perinatal prognosis.


CONCLUSIONS
Today there is an inflation of caesarean section at University Teaching Hospital of Dakar, without any significant loss of the maternal and perinatal mortality rate. The high level of complications due to surgery incite to reverse trends in order to get reasonable rate around 10 to 15% of childbirths.
Cissé
C-T
CT
Clinique gynécologique et obstétricale, CHU de Dakar, BP 15745, Dakar-Fann, Sénégal. ctcisse@yahoo.fr
Ngom
P-M
PM
Guissé
A
A
Faye
E-O
EO
Moreau
J-C
JC
D000328:Adult; D002585:Cesarean Section / Q000401:mortality / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008428:Maternal Mortality; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012675:Senegal