An audit of uterotonic use for the prophylaxis and treatment of haemorrhage at caesarean delivery at Mowbray Maternity Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa

Obstetric Haemorrhage is the leading cause of maternal death globally (1) and the third leading cause of death in South Africa (2). Concern has been expressed in South Africa that bleeding associated with caesarean delivery (CD) accounts for one-third of haemorrhage deaths and this has increased over the last ten years (3). The underlying cause of bleeding at CD is commonly uterine atony, and the majority of the CDs were performed at district hospitals (2,3,4). The Saving Mothers Reports describe inadequate use and documentation of uterotonics to prevent or treat bleeding at CD and have promoted the development of a standardised national protocol. While there is international agreement on the dosage and administration route for oxytocin to prevent OH after vaginal delivery, there is lack of consensus or standardisation of protocols for its prophylactic use at CD, with marked differences between country and facility protocols. Anaesthetists are concerned about the hypotensive effect of high dose intravenous boluses of oxytocin, particularly in women under spinal anaesthesia, and some maternal mortalities in the United Kingdom have been partially attributed to this (5). Hence it is important to balance safety with efficacy by promoting the lowest effective doses to minimise side effects but enable uterine contraction. Aim: The aim of this study was to perform a clinical audit of the documented use of uterotonics at CD at MMH to see how it adheres to the national protocol; and as a secondary outcome to measure the rate of haemorrhage at CD. Methods: This was a retrospective folder review of women who delivered by CD at MMH during the months of June and July 2017, including both elective and emergency operations. Information was obtained from women’s folders kept in the medical records department, using especially designed data extraction sheets. Data analysis was by simple descriptive statistics. Results: Three hundred and nineteen (319) folders from the study period were interrogated. This included 239 emergency ...