An assessment of serum prolactin levels among infertile women with galactorrhea attending a gynecological clinic North-West Nigeria

BACKGROUND: Galactorrhea is a common manifestation of hyperprolactinemia but may not always be present in women with hyperprolactinemia. This study was, therefore, undertaken to assess the serum prolactin levels of infertile women presenting with galactorrhea and to determine the prevalence of hyperprolactinemia among them. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective study of serum prolactin levels of 63 female partners of infertile couples attending the gynecological clinic of Federal Medical Centre, Birnin Kudu, Jigawa State, Nigeria, who were found to have galactorrhea from January 1, 2012, to December 31, 2013. Ethical clearance was obtained. Solid phase enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to measure serum prolactin. Sociodemographic characteristics were determined. The data obtained were analyzed using SPSS version 17.0 statistical software. Absolute numbers and simple percentages were used to describe categorical variables. Similarly, quantitative variables were described using measures of central tendency (mean, median) and measures of dispersion (range, standard deviation) as appropriate. RESULTS: The average age of the women was 27.9 ± 5.6 years. In half of the cases (50%), galactorrhea was associated with menstrual disturbances, mainly amenorrhea (23.3%). Although most (63.3%) of the clients had normal serum prolactin level despite being galactorrheic, averagely there was a marked elevation in serum prolactin of as high as 40.3 ± 52.3 ng/mL. CONCLUSION: We conclude, therefore, that the prevalence of hyperprolactinemia in this study was low when compared with other studies and that galactorrhea does not always indicate raised serum prolactin levels.