Complications and adverse outcomes related to induced abortion in female from the Ukrainian-Russian military conflict regions: A multicentre study

Abstract

Aim: To provide an overview of complications and adverse outcomes related to induced abortion in female from the Eastern and Southern Ukrainian-Russian military conflict regions. Material and Methods: This are a multicentre combined retrospective and prospective cohort study. All women who underwent induced abortion in Eastern and Southern Ukrainian-Russian military conflict regions between 2022 and 2024 are included in the study. Results: A total of 14,196 induced abortion were performed, 10,630 (74.9%) complications cases were observed. The most complication were infections (71.1%), cervical injury (6.6%), incomplete abortion (5.4%), hemorrhage (5.2%), and uterine perforation (4.9%). The most common infection related to induced abortions was endometritis (21.6%), cervicitis (17.8%), vaginal cuff infections (16.3%), peritonitis (12.3%) and pelvic abscess (10.7%), followed by adnexa utery (8.1%), parametritis (6.7%), salpingitis (5.1%), sepsis (1.3%) and other (0.2%) infections. The main risk factors was increased maternal age, surgical abortion approach, increased gestational age, prior cesarean delivery, presence of a bleeding disorder, fetal demise before the abortion, lack of healthcare facilities, lack of essential medication, lack of personnel and equipment, and surgical inexperience. Conclusions: This study findings demonstrate the high rate of complications related to induced abortion in the Ukrainian-Russian military conflict regions. The ongoing war has led to a decline in the quality of healthcare services and main reason for the high rate of complications and adverse outcomes related to induced abortion in female from the military conflict regions.