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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Year : 2019  |  Volume : 60  |  Issue : 1  |  Page : 9-12  

Appropriate documentation of the timing of events in the management of women with postpartum hemorrhage in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital: A 2-year audit


Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, Nigeria

Date of Web Publication24-Jul-2019

Correspondence Address:
Murtala Yusuf
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano
Nigeria
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Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None


DOI: 10.4103/nmj.NMJ_5_19

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   Abstract 

Background: Appropriate documentation of the timing of events in the management of women with postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is associated with better outcome. Objective: To find out how best the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, fares when compared with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) guidelines about appropriate documentation of the timing of events in the management of PPH. Methodology: It was a retrospective study based on findings obtained from the case folders of women who had PPH between January 2016 and December 2017. A structured pro forma was used to extract information such as personal data, type of PPH, vital signs of patients, sequence of events, administration of pharmacological agents, and timing of interventions. Results: There were 5202 patients who presented to the labor ward, and 129 of them were cases of PPH giving an incidence of 2.48%. The mean age of the patients was 20.38 ± 1.13 years, and about half of them (47.6%) were multiparas. There was appropriate documentation in terms of initial assessment, resuscitation, and investigations as the percentages of standards achieved are 85%, 78.6%, and 85.7%, respectively. Sixty-one percent of the patients had treatment within the time recommended and 56% had treatment with appropriate uterotonics. Appropriate documentation of major surgeries according to the guidelines was achieved in 12% of cases. Conclusion: There was good performance in documentation of initial management of patients with PPH when compared with the RCOG guidelines but suboptimal performance in timing of major surgical interventions.

Keywords: Audit, documentation, Kano, postpartum hemorrhage


How to cite this article:
Garba Z, Abdullahi HM, Yusuf M, Takai IU, Muhammad ID. Appropriate documentation of the timing of events in the management of women with postpartum hemorrhage in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital: A 2-year audit. Niger Med J 2019;60:9-12

How to cite this URL:
Garba Z, Abdullahi HM, Yusuf M, Takai IU, Muhammad ID. Appropriate documentation of the timing of events in the management of women with postpartum hemorrhage in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital: A 2-year audit. Niger Med J [serial online] 2019 [cited 2024 Mar 28];60:9-12. Available from: https://www.nigeriamedj.com/text.asp?2019/60/1/9/263354


   Introduction Top


Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is defined as blood loss from the genital tract in excess of 500 ml following vaginal delivery, above 1000 ml following cesarean section, and >1500 ml following cesarean hysterectomy. It can also be defined as blood loss sufficient to cause hypovolemia, a 10% drop in hematocrit, or blood loss requiring transfusion of blood products (regardless of route of delivery).[1] PPH is said to be primary when it occurs within 24 h and secondary when it occurs between 24 h and 12 weeks postnatally.[2] It is the leading cause of maternal mortality worldwide (25%) and is a major contributor of maternal deaths in Africa (33.9%).[3]

Factors associated with PPH include increasing maternal age, multiparty, fetal macrosomia, multiple pregnancies, uterine fibroids, antepartum hemorrhage, previous history of PPH, previous cesarean section, prolonged labor, and episiotomy.[4] However, none of these factors has an adequate positive predictive value for a good screening tool. Therefore, experts recommend that all women should benefit from active management of the third stage of labor, the only intervention known to prevent PPH.[5] Active management of the third stage of labor reduces the incidence of PPH by one third, and therefore, a significant proportion of women will proceed to develop PPH despite this active management.[6] Skilled birth attendants must therefore be conversant with proper management of PPH.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) issued guidelines on PPH prevention and management which was published in 2009 and updated in 2016. The 2009 guideline was based on an earlier guideline on the management of PPH developed in 1998 under the auspices of the Scottish Committee of the RCOG and updated in 2002;[7] however, this passive dissemination of guideline is by itself insufficient to change professionals' practices. However, the analysis of the actions was developed while providing care to the newly delivered women; accurate documentation against time is important for further clinical management, continuity of care, and team work. In addition, inadequate documentation can contribute to the likelihood of medico-legal consequences.[8],[9] This is the framework within which this study was initiated to identify dysfunctions in the management of PPH at the Gynaecology and Obstetrics Unit of Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), Kano.

There is minimal or no standard guidelines for the management of PPH in AKTH as such this audit will make use of the RCOG guidelines as the standards to compare the management protocol offered with reference to appropriate documentation in the center.

The aim of this audit is to find out how best we are doing in AKTH when compared with the updated RCOG guidelines about appropriate documentation with timing of events in the management of patients with PPH.

Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists audit standard

Initial assessment of the patient must be done within the first 15 min. A multidisciplinary team involving senior members of staff should be alerted when women present with major PPH. Resuscitation (ABC, oxygen, fluid balance, blood transfusion, and blood product) must be carried out within 15 min. Blood sampling to measure the rate of hemoglobin and determine blood group and blood compatibility (cross-match 4 units, fresh frozen plasma, platelets, and cryoprecipitate) can be done within 30 min. Etiological treatment must be performed within 30 min. Bimanual uterine compression and ensuring that the bladder is empty are necessary. Medical treatment with 10 IU of oxytocin by slow intravenous infusion should be given and then maintain on 40 IU oxytocin in 500 mls isotonic crystalloids at 125 mls/hour. Ergometrine can be given at a dose of 500 micrograms (contraindicated in women with hypertension). Carboprost 250 micrograms can also be given intramuscularly every 15 minutes up to a maximum of 8 times and then 0.5 mg intramyometrial. Finally misoprostol 1000 micrograms can be inserted rectally. Consideration should be given to the use of tranexamic acid in the management of PPH. Major surgeries (suture of a uterine rupture, intrauterine balloon tamponade, brace suture, hysterectomy, bilateral uterine artery, and bilateral internal iliac artery ligation) must be performed within 60 min. Transfer to the intensive care unit once the bleeding is controlled should be considered or monitoring at high dependency unit if appropriate.


   Methodology Top


The audit was a retrospective study based on the findings obtained from the case folders of women who had PPH and were managed between January 2016 and December 2017. A structured pro forma was used to extract information such as personal data, type of PPH, vital signs of patients, staffs in attendance and the time they arrived, sequence of events, administration of different pharmacological agents, their timing and sequence, timing of surgical interventions, condition of the mother throughout the different steps, and timing of intravenous fluids and blood products given. These were compared with the criteria obtained from the 2016 RCOG guidelines.

Inclusion criteria

All women who had blood loss from the genital tract within 24 h following delivery in excess of 500 ml following vaginal delivery or 1000 ml following a cesarean section were considered to have PPH. Regardless of the quantity of blood loss, diagnosis of PPH was also considered when bleeding was associated with at least 2 of the following signs; conjunctival pallor, systolic blood pressure <80 mmHg, thready pulse, agitations, cold sweats, cold extremities, severe thirst, impaired consciousness, or bleeding which required blood transfusion.

Exclusion criteria

All the women whose blood loss through the genital tract did not have a serious impact on their general condition and those whose medical records were not adequately retrieved were excluded.

The information was collated using SPSS Statistical Software Version 21 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Ethical approval for the study was sought from the institutional ethical committee.


   Results Top


There were 5202 patients who presented to the labor ward for delivery during the study period. One hundred and twenty-nine of them were cases of PPH, thus giving an incidence of 2.48%. Among the 129 cases, 84 (65.1%) case notes were retrieved from the medical records department and these were the ones analyzed. The mean age of the patients was 20.38 ± 1.13 years. The majority (64.2%) of the women were between the age groups of 20 and 24 (32.1%) and 30 and 34 (32.1%) years. About half (47.6%) of the patients were multiparas with secondary school leaving certificate as the highest level of education (n = 57, 67.9%). Average parity was 5 ± 2.22 with extremes ranging from 1 to 8. Majority of the patients (69, 82.1%) delivered at AKTH, while the remaining (15, 17.9%) were referred. Fifty-five percent (55%) of the women were unbooked while 45% were booked. This is shown in [Table 1].
Table 1: Sociodemographic characteristics

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Majority (82.1%) of the patients who had PPH delivered in our facility while the remaining (17.9%) were referred from other facilities or delivered at home. Most of the patients (90.5%) had primary PPH. Uterine atony was the most common cause of PPH (79.8%). Retained products, genital tract lacerations, and uterine rupture accounted for 7.1%, 10.7%, and 2.4%, respectively. This is as shown in [Table 2].
Table 2: Referral status, type, and causes of postpartum hemorrhage

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[Table 3] shows the frequency and percentages achieved with reference to the audit standards. Documentation of initial assessment within 15 min as recommended in the guideline was achieved in 61% of cases, and a multidisciplinary team was promptly alerted in 38.1% of cases. Resuscitation within 15 min was achieved in 78.6% of cases. Appropriate urgent blood investigations were done in 85.7% of patients. Sixty-one percent of the patients had etiological treatment within the time frame recommended in the RCOG guidelines, 56% had documented pharmacological treatment with appropriate uterotonics, while 3.6% had documented consideration of the use of tranexamic acid. Appropriate documentation of major surgeries done according to the guideline was achieved in 12% of cases.
Table 3: Frequencies and percentages of standards achieved

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   Discussion Top


The exact incidence of PPH is difficult to determine due to the difficulty in accurately measuring blood loss after delivery; the global estimate was found to be 6% although this figure varies in different regions.[1] In this study, however, the incidence of PPH was 2.47% which is similar to 2.72 reported in Jos but lower than 4.2% reported in Ilorin.[3] This low value may be due to the fact that our institution is a tertiary center where active management of the third stage of labor is routinely done and it has been shown to reduce the incidence of PPH by about 60%.[4]

The analysis of results points out the preponderance of age groups between 20 and 24 years and 30 and 34 years, with the majority (47.6%) of the patients being multiparas. These findings are similar to those reported in Jos and are close to the general trend observed in African studies.[10],[11] Majority of the women had secondary school leaving certificate as the highest level of education and were homemakers. Although most of the patients in this study (82.1%) delivered in our facility, majority of them were unbooked as reported by similar study conducted in Port Harcourt.[12]

Women with known risk factors for PPH should be advised during antenatal care to deliver in a hospital under supervision of skilled birth attendants and where blood transfusion services are available. The patients who were referred were mainly from primary health care centers managed by poorly trained community health extension workers and women who delivered at homes. This was not surprising as management of the third stage of labor is not practiced in many institutions due to lack of knowledge and unavailability of oxytocic agents. Primary PPH is the most common form of PPH recorded in this study, and uterine atony constitutes the most common cause. These are similar to the finding reported in Port Harcourt, Ilorin, and several other studies.[11],[12],[13],[14],[15],[16],[17]

This study shows that there is appropriate documentation of management in terms of initial patient assessment, resuscitation, and blood samplings for cross-matching as the percentages of standards achieved are 85%, 78.6%, and 85.7%, respectively. The importance of initial resuscitation in the management of PPH cannot be overemphasized as it had been shown to affect prognosis.[7] The use of anti-shock garment in resuscitation of patient with PPH in our unit may reduce the need for urgent blood transfusion.

Etiological treatment of patients with PPH must be performed within 30 min according to the RCOG guidelines. This was achieved at our center as 61% were able to receive definitive care within 30 min of presentation. However, only 12% of the standard was achieved in having major surgeries within 1 h. There was moderate achievement in the appropriate use of uterotonics in patients with uterine atony as the cause of most bleeding. Areas where high dysfunctions were recognized include the use of tranexamic acid which accounted for 3.6% even though studies have shown that tranexamic acid is effective in decreasing the incidence of blood loss >1000 ml in women who had undergone cesarean section, but not vaginal birth.[9] Admission into the intensive care unit was achieved in only 1.2% of patients and this shows our poor utilization of the unit. This may be due to the lack of bed space most often encountered as the unit has only few bed spaces available.


   Conclusion Top


This audit showed a good performance in documentation of initial management of patients with PPH when compared with the standard guideline with suboptimal performance in timing of major surgical interventions.

Financial support and sponsorship

Nil.

Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts of interest.

 
   References Top

1.
Weisbrod AB, Sheppard FR, Chernofsky MR, Blankenship CL, Gage F, Wind G, et al. Emergent management of postpartum hemorrhage for the general and acute care surgeon. World J Emerg Surg 2009;4:43.  Back to cited text no. 1
    
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Alexander J, Thomas P, Sanghera J. Treatments for secondary postpartum haemorrhage. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2002;(1):CD002867.  Back to cited text no. 2
    
3.
Dolea C, AbouZahr C, Stein C. Global Burden of Maternal Haemorrhage in the Year 2000. Geneva: Evidence and Information for Policy, World Health Organization; 2003.  Back to cited text no. 3
    
4.
B-Lynch C, Keith LG, Lalonde AB, Karoshi M, editors. A Textbook of Postpartum Haemorrhage: A Comprehensive Guide to Evaluation, Management and Surgical Intervention. Kirkmahoe, UK: Sapiens Publishing; 2006.  Back to cited text no. 4
    
5.
Mahajan NN, Mahajan KN, Soni RN. Reducing postpartum hemorrhage in Vietnam: assessing the effectiveness of active management of third-stage of labour. J Obstet Gynaecol Res 2006;32:489-96.  Back to cited text no. 5
    
6.
World Health Organisation. Managing Complications of Pregnancy and Childbirth: A Guide for Midwives and Doctors. Geneva: World Health Organisation; 2003.  Back to cited text no. 6
    
7.
Scottish Obstetric Guidelines and Audit Project. The Management of Postpartum Haemorrhage: A Clinical Practice Guideline for Professionals involved in Maternity Care in Scotland. Pilot Edition. Glasgow: Scottish Obstetric Guidelines and Audit Project; 1998. Available from: http://healthcareimprovementscotland.org/his/idoc.ashx?docid=84ee51e6-d441-4dba-8ebf-4fa6a2857e0d& version=-1. [Last accessed on 2015 Jul 02].  Back to cited text no. 7
    
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Penney G, Brace V. Near miss audit in obstetrics. Curr Opin Obstet Gynecol 2007;19:145-50.  Back to cited text no. 8
    
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Miller S, Lester F, Hensleigh P. Prevention and treatment of postpartum hemorrhage: New advances for low-resource settings. J Midwifery Womens Health 2004;49:283-92.  Back to cited text no. 9
    
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Mutihir JT, Utoo BT. Postpartum maternal morbidity in Jos, North-central Nigeria. Niger J Clin Pract 2011;14:38-42.  Back to cited text no. 10
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Adeniran AS, Ijaiya MA, Aboyeji AP, Balogun OR, Fawole AA, Adesina KT. Primary postpartum haemorrhage in Ilorin. Trop J Health Sci 2014;21;8-12.  Back to cited text no. 11
    
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Kinikanwo IG, John DO, Mmom CF. Primary postpartum haemorrhage at the university of Port Harcourt teaching hospital: Prevalence and risk factors. The Nig Health J 2015;15:112-7.  Back to cited text no. 12
    
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Oyelese Y, Ananth CV. Postpartum hemorrhage: Epidemiology, risk factors, and causes. Clin Obstet Gynecol 2010;53:147-56.  Back to cited text no. 13
    
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Rath W. Prevention of postpartum haemorrhage with the oxytocin analogue carbetocin. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol 2009;147:15-20.  Back to cited text no. 14
    
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Salifou K, Obossou AA, Sidi RI, Hounkpatin B, Komogui D, et al. Audit of management of immediate postpartum hemorrhages in Parakou (Benin). Clin Mother Child Health 2015;12:173.  Back to cited text no. 15
    
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Willis CE, Livingstone V. Infant insufficient milk syndrome associated with maternal postpartum haemorrhage. J Hum Lact 1995;11:123-6.  Back to cited text no. 16
    
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Glover P. Blood loss at delivery: How accurate is your estimation? Aust J Midwifery 2003;16:21-4.  Back to cited text no. 17
    



 
 
    Tables

  [Table 1], [Table 2], [Table 3]


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