PREVALENCE AND FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH RECURRENT INGUINAL HERNIA IN RURAL AREA OF CAMEROON chichomefire@gmail.com

PE065

PREVALENCE AND FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH RECURRENT INGUINAL HERNIA IN RURAL AREA OF CAMEROON

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Arthur Essomba artgessomba@gmail.com University of Yaounde I Department of surgery and specialties Yaounde Cameroon

Cameroon

Oral or Poster

: Globally, more than 20 million inguinal hernia repairs are performed annually. Some factors have been reported to be related to the risk of recurrence. Understanding the prevalence of recurrence and factors associated is essential for tailoring effective prevention and management strategies. The study aimed to determine prevalence, associated risk factors and clinical profile of recurrent inguinal hernia in rural areas of Cameroon

This was a cross-sectional, analytical retrospective study conducted from March 1st 2020 to March 31st 2025. Under the framework of the activities of ASCOVIME which conducts community-based humanitarian surgical interventions across the country, we reviewed the charts of all patients operated on during the study period for identification of cases of recurrent hernia. Data were recorded and analyzed using excel 2016 and SPSS version 17.

Among 1353 patients operated for groin hernia,187 were recurrent inguinal hernia (mean age was 51.39 + 14.20 years). Factors assessed with chi square test showed heavy weight lifting (p=0.042) to be an associated factor of recurrent inguinal hernia. Other factors such as Smoking, technique of suture repair in the primary operation or co-morbidity did not seem to significantly increase the risk of recurrence.

Our study found a high prevalence of 13.8% and heavy weight lifting was an associated factor. This portrays a need on education of the rural population and possibly the standardization of management of inguinal hernia. Keywords: Recurrent inguinal hernia, prevalence, factors associated, Cameroon