Socio-Demographic and Delivery Characteristics of Patients with Obstetric Fistula in the Haut-Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of Congo

Background: in developing countries, fistulae are generally caused by long-obstructed labors. obstetric fistula (of) is a severe condition that can have devastating impacts on a woman’s life. the objective of this study was to describe the socio-demographic and delivery characteristics of patients with of in the haut-katanga province of dr congo. methods: this was a prospective, descriptive study on 413 patients with of in the haut-katanga province during the period from september 2009 to december 2018. results: at the initial occurrence of of, 53.3% of patients were younger than 20 years (mean age: 21.3±6.7 years), and 65.8% were primiparous. more than half had primary education but 39.7% were illiterate; 70.2% of the patients were separated or divorced. fistula developed after delivery at home in 239 (57.9%) of 413 women. a total of 393 (95.2%) women developed of after vaginal delivery. a total of 387 (93.7%) of the 413 women reported that the fetus did not survive the labor during which fistula developed. out of all the women, 92.3% had a vesico-vaginal fistula. the mean fistula age was 6.5 years, and surgical repair was successful in 82.9% of the cases. conclusion: obstructed labor remains as the most important cause of of in haut-katanga. it is important to prevent of arising from obstructive causes. the surgical treatment of of depends upon the type, size and location of the fistula.