Preoperative Prophylactic Balloon-Assisted Occlusion of the Internal Iliac Arteries in the Management of Placenta Increta/Percreta

Prophylactic Radiologic Interventions for Postpartum Hemorrhage Control in Women With Placenta Accreta Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

To quantify the association between prophylactic radiologic interventions and perioperative blood loss during cesarean delivery in women with placenta accreta spectrum disorder through a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

DATA SOURCES

On January 3, 2023, a literature search was conducted in PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science. We also checked ClinicalTrials.gov retrospectively. Prophylactic radiologic interventions to reduce bleeding during cesarean delivery involved preoperative placement of balloon catheters, distal (internal or common iliac arteries) or proximal (abdominal aorta), or sheaths (uterine arteries). The primary outcome was volume of blood loss; secondary outcomes were the number of red blood cell units transfused and adverse events. Studies including women who received an emergency cesarean delivery were excluded.

METHODS OF STUDY SELECTION

Two authors independently screened citations for relevance, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias of individual studies with the Cochrane Risk of Bias in Non-randomized Studies of Interventions tool.

TABULTATION, INTEGRATION, AND RESULTS

From a total of 1,332 screened studies, 50 were included in the final analysis, comprising 5,962 women. These studies consisted of two randomized controlled trials and 48 observational studies. Thirty studies compared distal balloon occlusion with a control group, with a mean difference in blood loss of -406 mL (95% CI, -645 to -167). Fourteen studies compared proximal balloon occlusion with a control group, with a mean difference of -1,041 mL (95% CI, -1,371 to -710). Sensitivity analysis excluding studies with serious or critical risk of bias provided similar results. Five studies compared uterine artery embolization with a control group, all with serious or critical risk of bias; the mean difference was -936 mL (95% CI, -1,522 to -350). Reported information on adverse events was limited.

CONCLUSION

Although the predominance of observational studies in the included literature warrants caution in interpreting the findings of this meta-analysis, our findings suggest that prophylactic placement of balloon catheters or sheaths before planned cesarean delivery in women with placenta accreta spectrum disorder may, in some cases, substantially reduce perioperative blood loss. Further study is required to quantify the efficacy according to various severities of placenta accreta spectrum disorder and the associated safety of these radiologic interventions.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION

PROSPERO, CRD42022320922.

Clinical evaluation of the effect for prophylactic balloon occlusion in pregnancies complicated with placenta accreta spectrum disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) disorder is a critical and severe obstetric condition associated with high risk of intraoperative massive hemorrhage and cesarean hysterectomy. Severe obstetric hemorrhage is currently one of the leading causes of maternal death worldwide. Prophylactic balloon occlusions, including prophylactic balloon occlusion of the abdominal aorta (PBOAA) and prophylactic balloon occlusion of the internal iliac arteries (PBOIIA), are the most common means of controlling hemorrhage in patients with PAS disorder, but their effectiveness is still debated.

OBJECTIVE

A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of prophylactic balloon occlusion during cesarean section (CS) in improving maternal outcomes for PAS patients.

SEARCH STRATEGY

MEDLINE, EMBASE, OVID, PubMed and the Cochrane Library were systematically searched from the inception dates to June 2022, using the keywords "placenta accreta spectrum disorder/morbidly adherent placenta (placenta previa, placenta accreta, placenta increta, placenta percreta), balloon occlusion, internal iliac arteries, abdominal aorta, hemorrhage, hysterectomy, estimated blood loss (EBL), packed red blood cells (PRBCs)" to identify the systematic reviews or meta-analyses.

SELECTION CRITERIA

All articles regarding PAS disorders and including the application of balloon occlusion were included in the screening.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Two independent researchers performed the data extraction and assessed study quality. EBL volume and PRBC transfusion volume was regarded as the primary endpoints. Random and fixed effects models were used for the meta-analysis (RRs and 95% CIs), and the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used for quality assessments.

MAIN RESULTS

Of 429 studies identified, a total of 35 trials involving the application of balloon occlusion for patients with PAS disorder during CS were included. A total of 19 studies involving 935 patients who underwent PBOIIA were included in the PBOIIA group, and 851 patients were included in control 1 group. Ten studies including 428 patients with PAS who underwent PBOAA were allocated to the PBOAA group, and 324 patients without PBOAA were included in control 2 group. Simultaneously, we compared the effect on PBOAA and PBOIIA including seven studies, which referred to 267 cases in the PBOAA group and 313 cases in the PBOIIA group. The results showed that the PBOIIA group had a reduced EBL volume (MD: 342.06 mL, 95% CI: -509.90 to -174.23 mL, I2 = 77%, P < 0.0001) and PRBC volume (MD: -1.57 U, 95% CI: -2.49 to -0.66 U, I2 = 91%, P = 0.0008) than that in control 1 group. With regard to the EBL volume (MD: -926.42 mL, 95% CI: -1437.07 to -415.77 mL, I2 = 96%, P = 0.0004) and PRBC transfusion volume (MD: -2.42 U, 95% CI: -4.25 to -0.59 U, I2 = 99%, P = 0.009) we found significant differences between the PBOAA group and control 2 group. Prophylactic balloon occlusion (PBOAA and PBOIIA) had a significant effect on reducing intraoperative blood loss and blood transfusion volume in patients with PAS. Moreover, PBOAA was more effective than PBOIIA in reducing intraoperative blood loss (MD: -406.63 mL, 95% CI: -754.12 to -59.13 mL, I2 = 92%, P = 0.020), but no significant difference in controlling PRBCs (MD: -3.48 U, 95% CI: -8.90 to 1.95 U, I2 = 99%, P = 0.210) between the PBOIIA group and the PBOAA group. Hierarchical analysis was conducted by differentiating gestational weeks and maternal age to reduce the high heterogeneity of meta-analysis. Hierarchical analysis results demonstrated the heterogeneities of the study were reduced to some extent, and gestational weeks and maternal age might be the cause of increased heterogeneity.

CONCLUSION

Prophylactic balloon occlusion is a safe and effective method to control hemorrhage and reduce PRBC transfusion volume for patients with PAS, and PBOAA could reduce more intraoperative blood loss than PBOIIA. However, we found no statistical difference in lessening packed red blood cell transfusion volume for PAS patients. Hence, preoperative prophylactic balloon occlusion is the recommended application for PAS patients in obstetric CSs. Furthermore, PBOAA is preferred for controlling intraoperative bleeding in patients with corresponding medical conditions.

Maternal and Perinatal Outcomes in Placenta Previa: A Comprehensive Review of Evidence

Placenta previa poses significant risks to maternal and perinatal health, yet its management remains challenging. This comprehensive review synthesizes current evidence on maternal and perinatal outcomes in placenta previa, addressing its epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management strategies. Placenta previa complicates pregnancies, with increasing incidence linked to factors such as advanced maternal age and rising cesarean rates. Maternal complications, including hemorrhage and placenta accreta spectrum disorders, pose substantial risks. At the same time, perinatal outcomes are marked by increased rates of preterm birth, intrauterine growth restriction, and neonatal morbidity and mortality. Timely diagnosis and appropriate management, including antenatal corticosteroids and multidisciplinary care, are critical for optimizing outcomes. Future research should focus on improving diagnostic methods, evaluating novel interventions, and assessing long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes. This review underscores the importance of informed clinical practice and ongoing research efforts to enhance outcomes for women and infants affected by placenta previa.

Placenta Accreta: A Case Report on the Role of Interventional Radiology

Placenta accreta spectrum disorder is a pregnancy-related disorder responsible for important post-partum morbimortality, associated with intractable or massive hemorrhage, leading to uterine loss in up to 64% of women. Despite international recommendations advocating planned preterm cesarean hysterectomy for the management of these patients, uterus preservation management is being continuously reported with the implementation of minimally invasive bleeding reduction strategies, such as prophylactic balloon-assisted occlusion. We present the case of a 40-year-old pregnant woman with a previous cesarean, diagnosed with placenta previa and suspected placenta accreta on magnetic resonance after having second-trimester vaginal bleeding. A peri-operative multidisciplinary panel was involved, in collaboration with the interventional radiologist, and the c-section was scheduled for 36 weeks of gestation. The prophylactic balloon-assisted occlusion was successfully performed, minimizing the blood loss and allowing a uterus-preserving approach.

Placenta Accreta Spectrum Part II: hemostatic considerations based on an extended review of the literature

"Placenta accreta spectrum" (PAS) is a rare but serious pregnancy condition where the placenta abnormally adheres to the uterine wall and fails to spontaneously release after delivery. When it occurs, PAS is associated with high maternal morbidity and mortality-as PAS management can be particularly challenging. This two-part review summarizes current evidence in PAS management, identifies its most challenging aspects, and offers evidence-based recommendations to improve management strategies and PAS outcomes. The first part of this two-part review highlighted the general anesthetic approach, surgical and interventional management strategies, specialized "centers of excellence," and multidisciplinary PAS treatment teams. The high rates of PAS morbidity and mortality are often provoked by PAS-associated coagulopathies and peripartal hemorrhage (PPH). Anesthesiologists need to be prepared for massive blood loss, transfusion, and to manage potential coagulopathies. In this second part of this two-part review, we specifically reviewed the current literature pertaining to hemostatic changes, blood loss, transfusion management, and postpartum venous thromboembolism prophylaxis in PAS patients. Taken together, the two parts of this review provide a comprehensive survey of challenging aspects in PAS management for anesthesiologists.

Placenta accreta spectrum part I: anesthesia considerations based on an extended review of the literature

"Placenta accreta spectrum" (PAS) describes abnormal placental adherence to the uterine wall without spontaneous separation at delivery. Though relatively rare, PAS presents a particular challenge to anesthesiologists, as it is associated with massive peripartum hemorrhage and high maternal morbidity and mortality. Standardized evidence-based PAS management strategies are currently evolving and emphasize: "PAS centers of excellence", multidisciplinary teams, novel diagnostics/pharmaceuticals (especially regarding hemostasis, hemostatic agents, point-of-care diagnostics), and novel operative/interventional approaches (expectant management, balloon occlusion, embolization). Though available data are heterogeneous, these developments affect anesthetic management and must be considered in planed anesthetic approaches. This two-part review provides a critical overview of the current evidence and offers structured evidence-based recommendations to help anesthesiologists improve outcomes for women with PAS. This first part discusses PAS management in centers of excellence, multidisciplinary care team, anesthetic approach and monitoring, surgical approaches, patient safety checklists, temperature management, interventional radiology, postoperative care and pain therapy. The diagnosis and treatment of hemostatic disturbances and preoperative prepartum anemia, blood loss, transfusion management and postpartum venous thromboembolism will be addressed in the second part of this series.

The clinical evaluation of IIA balloon occlusion in caesarean delivery for patients with PAS: a retrospective study

Objective

The aim of this study is the clinical evaluation of IIA balloon occlusion in the caesarean delivery in patients with a diagnosis of placenta accreta spectrum.

Background

High incidence of cesarean section leads to the increasing incidence of placenta accreta spectrum (PAS), which contributes to serious consequences such as severe obstetric postpartum hemorrhage or even maternal mortality.

Methods

Fifty-eight patients with a diagnosis of PAS were retrospectively reviewed. The balloon group consisted of 23 patients, who underwent a caesarean delivery with internal iliac artery occlusion. 35 patients were in the control group, who had a standard caesarean delivery. The primary outcomes were estimated blood loss (EBL). The secondary outcomes were cesarean hysterectomy, blood transferring volume, operating time, intraoperative hemostatic approaches, surgical complications, balloon catheter–related complications, length of maternal stay, cost of hospitalization, and neonatal outcomes.

Results

No difference was observed in estimated blood loss (EBL), blood transferring percentages and volume, additional measures to secure hemostasis, surgical complications, hospital stay postoperatively and newborn outcomes. More than 40% of the balloon group underwent hysterectomy because of uncontrollable postpartum bleeding (10 [43.48%] vs. 11 [31.43%], P=0.350). Complications related to occlusion of IIA did not occur. The duration of the surgery of the balloon group was significantly longer than that of the control group (123.52 min±74.76 versus 89.17±48.68, P=0.038), and the total hospitalization cost was also significantly higher than that of the control group (45116.67±9358.67 yuan versus 30615.41±11587.44 yuan, P=0.000).

Conclusion

It does not permit to draw final conclusions for us on the effectiveness of the balloons IIA given the heterogeneity of selection of cases undergoing the procedures in the retrospective design. However, it is possible that IIA balloon occlusion may contribute to limiting intraoperative blood loss in more severe cases, particularly those undergoing peripartum hysterectomy.

The effect of prophylactic balloon occlusion in patients with placenta accreta spectrum: a Bayesian network meta-analysis

OBJECTIVES

Placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) can induce severe life-threatening obstetric hemorrhage. Herein, we conducted a Bayesian network meta-analysis of previous studies to evaluate the relative benefits of different prophylactic balloon occlusion (PBO) procedures.

METHODS

PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science were searched from inception to July 2021. Blood loss volume, blood transfusion volume, and hysterectomy rate were regarded as the primary endpoints. The data were pooled using a Bayesian network and traditional pairwise meta-analysis.

RESULTS

Fifty-nine articles with a total sample size of 5150 patients were included. Compared with no PBO (non-PBO) intervention, PBO of the abdominal aorta (PBOAA, mean difference(MD) - 1.02, 95% credible interval (CrI) - 1.4 to - 0.67), common iliac artery (PBOCIA, MD - 0.84; 95%CrI - 1.36 to - 0.06) and internal iliac artery (PBOIIA, MD - 0.42; 95%CrI - 0.72 to - 0.13) significantly lowered blood loss volume, with PBOAA being more effective than PBOIIA (MD - 0.60; 95%CrI - 1.05 to - 0.17). PBOAA and PBOIIA also significantly decreased blood loss volume (MD - 2.33; 95%CrI - 3.74 to - 0.94, MD - 1.57; 95%CrI - 2.77 to - 0.47 respectively) and hysterectomy rate (OR 0.31; 95%CrI 0.16 to 0.54, OR 0.53; 95%CrI 0.29 to 0.92 respectively). PBOAA has the highest probability of being more effective in reducing the blood loss volume, blood transfusion volume, and hysterectomy rate.

CONCLUSIONS

Performing PBOAA, PBOCIA, or PBOIIA in PAS patients is an effective way to minimize blood loss volume, while PBOAA and PBOIIA also reduce blood transfusion volume and hysterectomy rate. PBOAA is a notably more effective strategy to reduce blood loss volume than PBOIIA.

KEY POINTS

• PBOAA, PBOCIA, and PBOIIA procedures can significantly reduce the blood loss volume compared to non-PBO intervention in PAS patients, of which PBOAA was more effective than the PBOIIA procedure. • PBOAA and PBOIIA could significantly reduce the blood transfusion volume and hysterectomy rate in contrast to the non-PBO intervention in patients with PAS. • According to our statistical treatment ranking, PBOAA was statistically superior in reducing blood transfusion volume, blood transfusion volume, and hysterectomy rate than other PBO procedures.

Internal iliac artery balloon occlusion in the management of placenta accreta: A systematic review and meta-analysis

PURPOSE

To examine the effectiveness and safety of prophylactic internal iliac artery balloon occlusion for hemorrhage control in placenta accreta.

METHOD

EMBASE, PubMed, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials data-bases were searched through November 2020. Clinical trials comparing the management of placenta accreta with and without internal iliac artery balloon occlusion were included. The meta-analysis results were expressed as the risk ratio (RR) or mean difference, with 95 % CIs.

RESULTS

Fifteen studies including 1098 women were eligible. No statistically significant difference was found between the internal arterial balloon occlusion group and the control group with respect to estimated blood loss volume (-0.525 mL, [95 % CI, -1.112 to -0.061], p = 0.079.), red blood cells (RBCs) transfused in observational studies (-0.682 mL, [95 % CI, -1.540 to 0.176], p = 0.119.) and in randomized controlled trials (0.134 mL, [95 % CI, -0.214 to 0.482], p = 0.451.), intensive care unit admission (p = 0.197), hysterectomy in observational studies (p = 0.969) and in randomized controlled trials (p = 0.323), urinary system injury in observational studies (p = 0.182) and in randomized controlled trials (p = 0.956), Apgar score at 5 min (p = 0.641), and neonatal intensive care unit admission (p = 0.973).

CONCLUSIONS

The currently available data demonstrate no significant differences between the internal iliac artery balloon occlusion group and the control group in blood loss and packed RBCs transfused for women with placenta accreta. Further large randomized controlled studies are needed to confirm our findings.

The effect prophylactic internal iliac artery balloon occlusion in patients with placenta previa or placental accreta spectrum: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Placenta previa describes a placenta that extends partially or completely over the internal cervical oss. Placenta previa is one of the leading causes of widespread postpartum hemorrhage and maternal mortality worldwide. Another cause of bleeding in pregnant women is Placenta accreta spectrum. Therefore, the aim of the present systematic review and meta-analysis is to determine the effect of prophylactic balloon occlusion of the internal iliac arteries in patients with placenta previa or placental accreta spectrum (PAS).

METHODS

In this systematic review and meta-analysis, to identify and select relevant studies, the SID, MagIran, ScienceDirect, Embase, Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases were searched, using the keywords of internal iliac artery balloon, placenta, previa, balloon, accreta, increta and percreta, without a lower time limit and until 2020. The heterogeneity of the studies was examined using the I² index, and subsequently a random effects model was applied. Data analysis was performed within the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software (version 2).

RESULTS

In the review of 29 articles with a total sample size of 1140 in the control group, and 1225 in the balloon occlusion group, the mean difference between the two groups was calculated in terms of Intraoperative blood loss index (mL) and it was derived as 3.21 ± 0.38; moreover, in 15 studies with a sample size of 887 in the control group, and 760 in the balloon occlusion group, the mean difference between the two groups in terms of gestation index (weeks) was found as 2.84 ± 0.49; and also with regards to hysterectomy balloon occlusion after prophylactic closure of the iliac artery, hysterectomy (%) balloon occlusion was calculated as 8.9 %, and this, in the hysterectomy control group (%) was obtained as 31.2 %; these differences were statistically significant and showed a positive effect of the intervention (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

The results of this study show that the use of prophylactic internal iliac artery balloon occlusion in patients with placenta previa or Placenta accreta spectrum has benefits such as reduced intraoperative blood loss, reduced hysterectomy and increased gestation (weeks), which can be considered by midwives and obstetricians.