[Usefulness of a collecting bag for the diagnosis of post-partum hemorrhage].
OBJECTIVE
Depending on the country and the publications, post-partum hemorrhage (PPH) is either the first or second cause of maternal death in the world, including in developed countries. It remains a significant source of morbidity, severe anemia, blood transfusion, transfusion complications, acquired coagulation disorders and hemostasis hysterectomy. Visual assessment underestimates the amount of blood loss in around 45% of cases. Emergency treatment is therefore sometimes undertaken with some delay, giving time for Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC) to occur, which worsens the prognosis. A collecting plastic bag put under the pelvis of the mother just after delivery is a quantitative and objective method of measuring blood loss. The objective was to assess sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), studying correlation between bag's volume and hemoglobin and hematocrit variation.


METHODS
Included outpatients were women with unique pregnancy at term. Breech presentations were excluded. We measured serum hemoglobin and hematocrit just after admission for labor. A collecting bag, placed under the pelvis of each woman just after birth, was weighted after delivery. Serum hemoglobin and hematocrit were again assessed at three days. Post-partum hemorrhage was defined by a fall of hematocrit more than 10 points (delta Ht), or by a fall of hemoglobin more than 3g/dL (delta Hb).


RESULTS
From January 2003 to May 2003, 272 patients were included. 8.9% of the results were unuseful (n=24). The mean volume of blood loss was 190 ml (5th p=29 ml, 10th p=48 ml, 90th p=610 ml, 95th p=824 ml). The mean delta Ht was 2.7 +/- 4 pts (16.5 / -4.8). The mean delta Hb was 1.2 +/- 1.4 g/dL (5.9 / -1.5). For a delta Ht=10 the calculated bag volume was 564 ml. With this cut off we noted 5.5% PPH (n=15) prevalence=0.06. Sensitivity=34.21%. Specificity=99%. PPV=86%. NPV=90.38%. For a delta Hb=3 the calculated bag volume was 486 ml. With this cut off we noted 10.7% PPH (n=24) prevalence of PPH=0.1. Sensitivity=38.77%. Specificity=95.96%, PPV=67. 85%. NPV=87.7%.


CONCLUSIONS
The collecting pelvis bag is a rapid and precise procedure to diagnose PPH in the delivery room. It also enables a visual and quantitative non-subjective estimation of blood loss. Because of its simplicity and very low cost, the collecting pelvis bag should be used widely as a routine preventive measure.
Tourné
G
G
Département de Gynécologie Obstétrique Médecine de la Reproduction, CHU de Saint-Etienne, Hôpital Nord, 42055 Saint-Etienne Cedex 2, France. gauderique@mageos.com
Collet
F
F
Lasnier
P
P
Seffert
P
P
D036861:Delivery, Obstetric / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D020567:Fetal Weight; D006400:Hematocrit; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D010298:Parity; D006473:Postpartum Hemorrhage / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011247:Pregnancy; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
D006454:Hemoglobins