Obstetric intensive care admissions: a 12-year review in a tertiary care centre.
OBJECTIVE
To review all pregnant women who required admission to an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) during pregnancy, childbirth or puerperium.


METHODS
Retrospective follow-up study in a tertiary care centre in The Netherlands. The files of all obstetric ICU admissions over the period 1990-2001 were reviewed.


RESULTS
Over these 12 years, 142 women required ICU admission (0.76% of all deliveries, 0.70% of all adult ICU admissions). The most common reasons for ICU admission were (pre)eclampsia (62.0%) and obstetric haemorrhage (18.3%). Twenty-seven out of 142 women (19.0%) were of non-caucasian origin. The most common therapeutic interventions were transfusion of erythrocytes (66.2%), caesarean section (50.7%) and artificial ventilation (44.4%). We observed seven maternal deaths (4.9%).


CONCLUSIONS
We need better information about high-risk obstetric patients in order to prevent severe maternal morbidity and to improve maternal care. The high number of non-caucasian women requiring ICU admission indicates the need for a study into the role of ethnicity. We have initiated a nationwide confidential enquiry into the causes of severe maternal morbidity.
Keizer
Jan L
JL
Department of Obstetrics, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Zwart
Joost J
JJ
Meerman
Robertjan H
RH
Harinck
Bert I J
BI
Feuth
Hans D M
HD
van Roosmalen
Jos
J
D003422:Critical Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006785:Hospitals, University / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009017:Morbidity; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000401:mortality; D012189:Retrospective Studies