• Eric A Gehrie, Ian Baine, Garrett S Booth, and Education Committee of the Academy of Clinical Laboratory Physicians and Scientists.
• From the Department of Laboratory Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT; eric.gehrie@yale.edu.
• Am. J. Clin. Pathol. 2016 Aug 1; 146 (2): 149-55.

ObjectivesIn obstetrics, the decision to transfuse blood components has historically been driven by traditional laboratory testing in combination with direct observation of bleeding. The adjunctive use of viscoelastic testing, including thromboelastometry and thromboelastography, has gained increasing acceptance in the clinical domain.MethodsWe performed a review of the published medical literature by searching the PUBMED database for keywords "viscoelastic" and "obstetric," as well as "viscoelastic" and "postpartum hemorrhage." Additionally, case reports and expert opinion publications that referenced viscoelastic studies in obstetrical patients were evaluated.ResultsThere is very little high-quality evidence currently published in the medical literature to support the notion that viscoelastic testing obviates the need for traditional coagulation testing or improves mortality resulting from major obstetrical hemorrhage.ConclusionsAdditional research is needed to further focus the optimum role of viscoelastic tests in major obstetrical hemorrhage.© American Society for Clinical Pathology, 2016. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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