Audit of Antenatal Investigation Results of Patients in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital: A Two-Year Review

Abstract

Background: Antenatal screening forms an indispensable part of effective antenatal care and it helps to reduce maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality.

Objectives: This audit aimed to identify how the study center complies with the antenatal investigations standards as recommended by WHO and NICE guidelines.

Method: The study was a 2-year retrospective study of antenatal investigation results of women who attended antenatal care in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital. Data was collected through a review of the women’s antenatal cards and compared with the standard criteria from WHO 2016 recommendation on antenatal care and NICE 2008 Guideline on antenatal care. The study period was from 1st January 2018 to 31st December 2019.

Results: Majority of the women, 86.7% had PCV of more than 30%, 77.5% had hemoglobin genotype AA and 48.7% had O+ blood groups. Also, 5.3% of the women were Rhesus negative. Majority of those screened for gestational diabetes mellitus, 82.1% had normal oral glucose tolerance test. The seroprevalence for HIV, hepatitis B and syphilis was found to be 5.6%, 14.7% and 1.1% respectively. Most of the patients (97.1%) had an ultrasound scan done at booking but only 50.3% had it done before 24 weeks of gestation with 99.5% being normal.

Conclusion: Although most of the antenatal investigations recommended by WHO and NICE guidelines are done in the hospital, it still falls short of the required level from the standards and as such, the centre did not fully comply with the standards of WHO and NICE guidelines. There is therefore need for improvement in order to comply with the standards which will subsequently have an impact on maternal and perinatal health statistics