Impact of non pneumatic anti shock garment in reducing postpartum haemorrhage - a tertiary centre experience

Abstract

Objective: To compare the effect of a non-pneumatic anti-shock garment (NASG) on blood loss from obstetric haemorrhage with standard management of obstetric haemorrhage. Methods: This is an observational study of consecutive obstetric haemorrhage cases before and after the introduction of the non-pneumatic anti-shock garment conducted in a tertiary care centre in Southern India. A total of 122 women were included in the study out of which, 48 women were in the pre-intervention group and 74 in the post-intervention group. Blood loss was measured and recorded before and after the introduction of NASG. Results: The number of patients with significant blood loss (>750 ml) decreased from 81.3% to 50% after the use of NASG. The number of women with shock index >0.7 also reduced significantly from 81.3% to 56.8% thus reflecting the lower number of women requiring blood transfusion in the post-intervention group (56.2% v/s 14.9%). There was also a decrease in the number of cases requiring surgical management in the post NASG intervention group with a significant p-value of <0.001. However, no significant difference was noted in terms of the rate of intensive care unit (ICU) admissions or mortality rates among the two groups. Interestingly, improved perinatal outcomes were noted in the post-intervention group in the form of increased live birth rates and reduced neonatal admissions. Conclusions: NASG shows promise for the management of obstetric haemorrhage, particularly in lower resource settings.

Keywords

• blood loss
• intervention
• non-pneumatic anti-shock garment
• obstetric haemorrhage