• Zhiling Zhao, Songyun Han, Gaiqi Yao, Shuangling Li, Wenxiong Li, Yangyu Zhao, Jie Qiao, Jianxin Zhang, Junli Lu, Liyuan Tao, and Yue Han.
• Department of Intensive Care Unit, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China.
• Crit. Care Med. 2018 Oct 1; 46 (10): e1002-e1009.

ObjectivesTo identify the key points for improving severe maternal morbidity by analyzing pregnancy-related ICU admissions in Beijing.DesignThis was a retrospective, multicenter cohort study.SettingThree ICUs in tertiary hospitals in Beijing.PatientsA total of 491 severe maternal cases in any trimester of pregnancy or within 42 days of delivery were reviewed between January 1, 2008, and December 31, 2016.InterventionsNone.Measurements And Main ResultsAmong 491 obstetric ICU admissions (median Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score, 2) out of 87,850 hospital deliveries (a frequency of 5.6 admissions per 1,000 deliveries), the leading diagnoses were postpartum hemorrhage (170; 34.62%), hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (156; 31.77%), and cardio-cerebrovascular diseases (78; 15.9%). Comparing 2008-2011 to 2012-2016, the rates of maternal mortality (2.5% vs 1.9%; p = 0.991) and fetal loss (8.5% vs 8.6%; p = 0.977) did not decrease significantly, whereas the rates of ICU admission (3.05% vs 7.85%; p trends < 0.001) and postpartum hemorrhage (23% vs 38.5%; p = 0.002) increased. Hypertensive disorder (150/156; 96.2% transferred to the ICU postpartum, 24/28 women with fetal loss transferred from lower-level hospitals) was an independent maternal factor associated with fetal loss, and infections were the leading cause of maternal death (6/10) in the ICU.ConclusionsOur study highlights the increasing rate of intensive care admissions for postpartum hemorrhage. Improving prenatal care quality for pregnancy-induced hypertension and sepsis at lower-level hospitals may improve maternal and fetal outcomes. Specifically, providing more effective regional cooperation before transfer and shifting patients who require continuous surveillance but not necessarily intensive care to a transitional ward in a tertiary hospital would provide more ICU beds for more prenatal intensive care for the most complex medical conditions.

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