Background

The guidelines of National Health Service(NHS, the United Kingdom) recommended for use in obstetrics at increased risk of bleeding, requiring two suction devices to reduce amniotic fluid contamination, however, when comes to massive hemorrhage, it is may difficult to operate because the complex operation may delay time. The aim of the study was to detect the effect of amniotic fluid recovery on intraoperative cell salvage in obstetrics and provide evidence for clinical applications.

Method

Thirty-four patients undergoing elective cesarean section were randomly divided into two groups. In group 1, the cumulative blood from the operation field, including the amniotic fluid, was collected using a single suction device for processing. In group 2, after suctioning away the amniotic fluid using another suction device for the cumulative blood from the operation field. From each group, four samples were taken, including maternal venous blood (sample I), blood before washing (sample II), blood after washing (sample III) and blood after filtration with a leukocyte filter (sample IV), to detect serum potassium (K +), hemoglobin (Hb), white blood cell (WBC), fetal hemoglobin (HbF), alpha fetoprotein (AFP) and squamous cell (SC) levels.

Results

The AFP, K + and WBC levels of sample III and sample IV were significantly lower than sample I in group 1 and group 2 (P < 0.05). Significantly more SCs were found in sample III than in sample I in group 1 and group 2 (P < 0.05), but SCs of sample IV had no statistical difference compared to sample I in group 1 and group 2 (P > 0.05). There was no significant difference in the K + , Hb, WBC, AFP and SC levels of sample IV between group 1 and group 2 (P > 0.05). The HbF levels of sample III and sample IV were significantly higher in group 1 than in group 2 (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

There is little or no possibility for AF contamination to enter the re-infusion system when used in conjunction with a leucodepletion filter. For maternal with Rh-negative blood, we recommend two suction devices to reduce HbF pollution.