Diagnostic Performance of Serial bedside Capillary Lactate, Hemoglobin, and Shock Index for Severe Postpartum

Objective: To assess the diagnostic capacity of bedside capillary lactate (CLact), capillary Haemoglobin (CHb), and shock index (SI) for severe postpartum haemorrhage (SPPH > 2000 ml) at diagnosis, 15 minutes and 30 minutes later. Method: A cohort study was carried out in a reference hospital in San Luis Potosi, Mexico from February 2020 to March 2021, and included sixty women in vaginal labor or c-section who presented PPH (≥500 ml in labor or ≥1000 ml in c-section) measured by the gravimetric method. CLact, SI, and CHb concentrations were analyzed at diagnosis of PPH, 15 minutes, and 30 minutes. Patients who presented total blood loss of >2000 ml were considered SPPH. A T-test or Wilcox test was performed to compare the groups of non-severe and severe. Sensitivity, specificity, and performance were calculated by A Receiver Operating Curve. Results: A CLact measurement at 30 minutes was significantly different between the non-severe and severe groups (4.0 + 1.9 vs 4.8 + 1.15 P-value 0.001, with an optimal cut point of 4.3 mmol/dl at AUC 0.75, sensitivity 0.85, and specificity of 0.62. With a cut-point of 1.17, an AUC of 0.76, sensitivity of 0.43, and specificity of 0.98, SI at diagnosis was significantly different between the non-severe and severe groups (0.70 + 0.20 vs. 0.90 + 0.38 P-value 0.0228). Conclusion: SI is an early sign of SPPH;CLact can significantly identify SPPH after 30 minutes.

Temporal Trends of Maternal Mortality Due to Obstetric Hemorrhage in Chinese Mainland: Evidence from the Population-Based Surveillance Data Between 2000 and 2019

Objective:To analyze the temporal trends of maternal mortality ratio(MMR)due to obstetric hemorrhage and its specific causes in Chinese mainland from 2000 to 2019,to identify whether the rate of change has accelerated or slowed down during this period,and to find the prior cause of obstetric hemorrhage that needs to be intervened in the future.Methods:Individual information on maternal deaths and total number of live births from 336 surveillance sites across 31 provinces in Chinese mainland was collected from the National Maternal and Child Health Surveillance System between 2000 and 2019.Maternal death was defined according to the World Health Organization’s criterion.The final underlying cause of death was confirmed by the national review and was coded according to International Classification of Diseases-10.Linear trends for changes in characteristics of maternal deaths were assessed using linear or logistic models with the year treated as a continuous variable.The MMR and 95%confidence intervals(CI)for regions or causes were estimated by Poisson’s distribution.Joinpoint regression was used to assess the accurate temporal patterns.Results:The national MMR due to obstetric hemorrhage was 18.4 per 100,000 live births(95%CI:15.0–22.2)in 2000.It peaked in 2001(22.1 per 100,000 live births,95%CI:18.3–26.4)and was lowest in 2019(1.6 per 100,000 live births,95%CI:1.0–2.3).For specific regions,the MMR due to obstetric hemorrhage in rural areas and western regions both experienced a slight rise,followed by a rapid decline,and then a slow decline.For specific causes,no change point was found in joinpoint analysis of the national MMR caused by placenta previa,postpartum uterine atony,and retained placenta(the annual percent change was12.0%,10.5%,and21.0%,respectively).The MMR caused by postpartum hemorrhages(PPH)significantly declined by 8.0%(95%CI:1.9–13.6)per year from 2000 to 2007.The annual percent change of MMR caused by PPH accelerated further to25.0%between 2007 and 2011,and then decreased to7.8%between 2011 and 2019.The proportion of maternal deaths due to antepartum hemorrhages increased from 7.6%(8/105)in 2000 to 14.3%(4/28)in 2019.The changes in the proportion of causes were different for maternal deaths due to PPH.The proportion of postpartum uterine atony increased from 39.0%(41/105)in 2000 to 60.7%(17/28)in 2019,and the proportion of uterine rupture also increased from 12.3%(13/105)in 2000 to 14.3%(4/28)in 2019.However,the proportion of retained placenta decreased from 37.1%(39/105)in 2000 to 7.1%(2/28)in 2019.Conclusion:Over the last 20 years,the intervention practice in China has proved that targeted interventions are beneficial in reducing the MMR due to obstetric hemorrhage.However,the MMR has reached a plateau and is likely to increase for some specific causes such as uterine rupture.China needs to develop more effective interventions to reduce maternal deaths due to obstetric hemorrhage,especially for postpartum uterine atony and uterine rupture.