Massive obstetric haemorrhage

Retrospective review of time to uterotonic administration and maternal outcomes following post-partum hemorrhage

OBJECTIVE

Despite advances in health care and ample resources, post-partum hemorrhage (PPH) rates are increasing in high income countries. Although guidelines recommend therapeutic uterotonics, timing of administration is open to judgement and most often based on (inherently inaccurate) visual estimates of blood loss. With severe hemorrhage, every minute of delay can have significant consequences. Our objective was to examine the timing of uterotonic administration and its impact upon maternal outcomes. We hypothesized that increased time to uterotonic administration following the identification of PPH, would be associated with a greater decline in hemoglobin (Hb) and higher odds of hypotension and transfusion.

METHODS

We reviewed all cases of PPH that occurred at an academic centre between June 2015 and September 2017. All cases of primary PPH (i.e., those declared within 24 h of delivery with estimated blood loss [EBL] >500 mL for vaginal and >1000 mL for cesarean deliveries) were analyzed. Patient records were excluded if they were missing information regarding time of PPH declaration, uterotonic administration, and/or Hb measures, or if a pre-existing medical condition could have contributed to PPH.

RESULTS

Of 4397 births, there were 259 (5.9%) cases of primary PPH, of which 128 were included in this analysis. For these patients, each 5-minute delay in uterotonic treatment was associated with 26% higher odds of hypotension following delivery of any type. For vaginal deliveries (n = 86), each 5-minute delay was associated with 31% and 34% higher odds of hypotension and transfusion, respectively.

CONCLUSION

In this study, delay in administration of therapeutic uterotonics was associated with a higher incidence of hypotension and transfusion in primary PPH patients.

[Analysis of the causes for increases in the length of stay in the Recovery Unit of La Paz Maternity Hospital in 2008]

OBJECTIVE

To establish the spectrum of diseases in the obstetric patient that involves an increase in the length of stay in the Recovery Unit of a specialist Maternity Hospital. To analyse the severity of these conditions as regards the means required for their resolu-tion, as well as to identify the factors that influence on post-operative morbidity in the obstetric patient.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

All the case histories of all the patients admitted to the Maternity Hospital Recovery Unit during the year 2008 were reviewed. Those who required a lon-ger stay than usual were selected, which included, those with more than 6hours after a caesarean, and all admissions made during pregnancy, or after dilation and curettage or partum.

RESULTS

Out of a total of 10419 births delivered in 2008, 3000 obstetric patients were ad-mitted to the Maternity Hospital Recovery Unit, of which 285 (9.5%) required critical care. The most frequent cause of increased length of stay was obstetric haemorrhage, followed by hypertensive states of pregnancy. No patients died in this Unit in the year 2008.

CONCLUSIONS

The number of patients who had an increased length of stay in the Mater-nity Hospital Recovery Unit is similar to the percentage of patients who are admitted to Intensive Care Units in countries such as Canada or the United Kingdom, but our Unit had a lower death rate in the year evaluated. The main causes are obstetric haemorrhage and hypertensive states of pregnancy, thus patients with risk factors for developing these complications must be observed closely and monitored.

The introduction of intra-operative cell salvage in obstetric clinical practice: a review of the available evidence

Intra-operative blood salvage is common practice in many surgical specialties but its safety is questioned with concerns about the risks of contamination of recovered blood with amniotic fluid and of maternal-foetal alloimmunization. However, the role of cell salvage as a blood-saving measure in this clinical setting is progressively acquiring relevance thanks to the growing body of evidence regarding its quality and safety. Modern cell savers remove most particulate contaminants and leukodepletion filtering of salvaged blood prior to transfusion adds further safety to this technique. Amniotic fluid embolism is no longer regarded as an embolic disease and the contamination of the salvaged blood by foetal Rh-mismatched red blood cells can be dealt with using anti-D immunoglobulin; ABO incompatibility tends to be a minor problem since ABO antigens are not fully developed at birth. Maternal alloimmunization can be caused also by other foetal red cell antigens, but it should also be noted that the risk of alloimmunization of the mother from allogeneic transfusion may be even greater. Therefore the use of cell savers in obstetric clinical practice should be considered in patients at high risk for haemorrhage or in cases where allogeneic blood transfusion is difficult or impossible.

[Experience with uterine artery embolization in the treatment of massive postpartum hemorrhage]

OBJECTIVE

To analyze our experience with uterine artery embolization in the management of massive hemorrhage in obstetric patients.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This observational, retrospective study analyzed all deliveries requiring a blood transfusion that were performed in the maternity unit of Hospital Universitario La Paz between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2005.

RESULTS

A total of 57,835 deliveries were performed with an incidence of postpartum hemorrhage of 0.7% (406 episodes). Uterine artery embolization was performed on 51 patients and 45 patients underwent obstetric hysterectomy. Both procedures were performed on 11 patients. Ten of the patients who underwent obstetric hysterectomy subsequently required uterine artery embolization, whereas only 1 patient required an obstetric hysterectomy following embolization because the hemorrhage was not resolved. The mean consumption of blood products for patients who underwent obstetric hysterectomy was twice that for patients who underwent uterine artery embolization. There were no complications secondary to embolization.

CONCLUSIONS

Uterine artery embolization is a safe and effective procedure for managing massive postpartum hemorrhage.