BACKGROUND: 

Obstetric patient blood management (PBM) strategies were used at Corniche Hospital in 2018, initially focusing on minimizing bleeding, with other clinical strategies implemented incrementally. This study assesses program outcomes in patients with major obstetric hemorrhage of 2000 mL or greater.

METHODS: 

A retrospective study of 353 women admitted to The Corniche Hospital between 2018 and 2023 who experienced major obstetric hemorrhage of 2000 mL or greater. The primary outcome measure was units of red blood cell (RBC), fresh-frozen plasma (FFP), and platelet units transfused. Secondary outcomes included pretransfusion hemoglobin in patients with no active bleeding, hemoglobin levels 3 weeks postdischarge, anemia predelivery, blood product-acquisition cost savings, mortality, composite morbidity (transfusion reaction, acute lung injury, thrombosis, sepsis, postpartum hysterectomy), hospital and high-dependency unit length of stay, and all-cause emergency readmissions within 28 days.

RESULTS: 

Comparing baseline (2018) with the final year (2023), the mean units of RBCs, FFP, and platelets transfused per admission decreased from 4.18 to 0.67 (P-trend <.001), resulting in blood acquisition savings of US$ 175,705. Over the same period the percentage of women anemic predelivery decreased from 40.3% to 23.8% (P-trend = 0.015) and the mean pretransfusion hemoglobin level in nonactively bleeding patients decreased from 7.54 g/dL to 6.35 g/dL (P-trend < .001). The mean hemoglobin rise 3 weeks postdischarge increased from 2.41 g/dL in 2018 to 4.26 g/dL in 2023. There were no changes in adjusted composite morbidity, hospital, or high-dependency unit length of stay.

CONCLUSIONS: 

In women with a major obstetric hemorrhage of 2000 mL or greater, the implementation of an obstetric PBM program was associated with reduced blood product utilization, reduced costs, reduced anemia, and increased hemoglobin rise postdischarge.