Obstetrical & gynecological survey
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Obstet Gynecol Surv · Jul 2012
ReviewObstetric hemorrhage and coagulation: an update. Thromboelastography, thromboelastometry, and conventional coagulation tests in the diagnosis and prediction of postpartum hemorrhage.
Globally, postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is the leading cause of maternal morbidity and mortality. In the current treatment of severe PPH, first-line therapy includes transfusion of packed cells and fresh-frozen plasma in addition to uterotonic medical management and surgical interventions. In persistent PPH, tranexamic acid, fibrinogen, and coagulation factors are often administered. ⋯ Fibrinogen seems to play a major role in the course of PPH and can be an early predictor of the severity of PPH. The FIBTEM values (in thromboelastometry, reagent specific for the fibrin polymerization process) decline even more rapidly than fibrinogen levels and can be useful for early guidance of interventions. Data on thromboelastography and thromboelastometry in pregnant women are limited, particularly during the peripartum period and in women with PPH, so more research in this field is needed.
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Obstet Gynecol Surv · Jul 2012
ReviewMaintaining perioperative normothermia in the patient undergoing cesarean delivery.
Anesthesia and surgery interfere with normal thermoregulation, and nearly all patients will become hypothermic unless compensatory measures are used. Preoperative patient warming and intraoperative methods using forced air and warmed intravenous fluids are important methods for maintaining patient's core temperature during the perioperative period. The benefits of maintaining normothermia include reductions in postoperative wound infection, the risk of perioperative coagulopathy, and myocardial ischemia. ⋯ Large prospective studies will be required to show significant effects on rates of maternal wound infection after cesarean delivery. European and American national obstetrical organizations have not published recommendations regarding the perioperative thermal regulation for cesarean delivery. We review the physiology of thermal regulation and perioperative thermal management in surgical patients and the literature that has examined perioperative maternal warming for cesarean delivery.