Treatment of Postpartum Hemorrhage With Blood Products in a Tertiary Hospital

Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) remains a leading cause of maternal mortality and morbidity worldwide. This retrospective observational study describes patient characteristics and hemostatic therapies administered to 352 parturients experiencing PPH and analyzes risk factors for developing severe PPH. During the study period, bleeding was controlled in all cases and 99.4% survived. The majority (98%) of patients received packed red blood cells. The most frequent hemostatic therapies administered were fibrinogen concentrate (56%), fresh frozen plasma (49%), and platelets (30%). A total of 124 (35%) women experienced severe PPH. Significant independent predictors for evolution to severe PPH were age, obstetric comorbidity, and plasma fibrinogen concentration. The latter was based on records from 267 (76%) patients. Plasma fibrinogen concentration before labor was the only modifiable prepartum risk factor independently associated with severe PPH, indicating that fibrinogen monitoring is warranted in these patients.