Table 2 Bleeding characteristics at time of inclusion of women with persistent postpartum haemorrhage, as compared with women with different cut-off values for transfused units of packed red blood cells (RBC) within 24 h following birth. Women with higher numbers of RBCs are included in cohorts of women with fewer units transfused
Bleeding characteristic | Persistent postpartum haemorrhage (N = 1260) | ≥4 units RBC (N = 845) | ≥6 units RBC (N = 325) | ≥8 units RBC (N = 176) | ≥10 units RBC (N = 115) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Time from birth till inclusion of patients – no. (%) | |||||
< 1 h | 820 (65.1) | 37 (4.4) | 9 (2.8) | 4 (2.3) | 2 (1.7) |
≥ 1–2 h | 251 (19.9) | 96 (11.4) | 41 (12.6) | 11 (6.3) | 3 (2.6) |
≥ 2 h | 189 (15.0) | 712 (84.3) | 275 (84.6) | 161 (91.5) | 110 (95.7) |
Unknown | – | – | – | 1 (0.5) | – |
Mode of birth - no. (%) | |||||
Vaginal | 967 (76.7) | 612 (72.4) | 207 (63.7) | 100 (56.8) | 62 (53.9) |
Caesarean | 285 (22.6) | 228 (27.0) | 116 (35.7) | 75 (42.6) | 53 (46.1) |
Unknown | 8 (0.6) | 5 (0.6) | 2 (0.6) | 1 (0.6) | – |
Cause of haemorrhage – no. (%) | |||||
Uterine atony | 805 (63.9) | 539 (63.8) | 214 (65.8) | 107 (60.8) | 66 (57.4) |
Retained placenta | 219 (17.4) | 135 (16.0) | 29 (8.9) | 18 (10.2) | 13 (11.3) |
Abnormally invasive placenta | 113 (9.0) | 71 (8.4) | 26 (8.0) | 17 (9.7) | 13 (11.3) |
Placenta previa | 12 (1.0) | 13 (1.5) | 6 (1.8) | 4 (2.3) | 3 (2.6) |
Placental abruption | 12 (1.0) | 18 (2.1) | 11 (3.4) | 5 (2.8) | 1 (0.9) |
Surgical cause | 92 (7.3) | 66 (7.8) | 36 (11.1) | 22 (12.5) | 16 (13.9) |
Pre-existent coagulation disorder | 7 (0.6) | 3 (0.4) | 3 (0.9) | 3 (1.7) | 3 (2.6) |
Blood loss – no. (%) | |||||
< 1 L | 673 (53.4) | 7 (0.8) | 1 (0.3) | 1 (0.6) | – |
≥ 1-2 L | 407 (32.3) | 82 (9.7) | 15 (4.6) | 3 (1.7) | 2 (1.7) |
≥ 2 L | 180 (14.3) | 756 (89.5) | 309 (95.1) | 172 (97.7) | 113 (98.3) |
Bleeding rate – no. (%) | |||||
< 1 L/hr. | 457 (36.3) | 689 (81.5) | 24 (74.2) | 127 (72.2) | 80 (69.6) |
≥ 1-2 L/hr. | 316 (25.1) | 100 (11.8) | 56 (17.2) | 34 (19.3) | 21 (18.3) |
≥ 2 L/hr. | 481 (38.2) | 41 (4.9) | 23 (7.1) | 12 (6.8) | 12 (10.4) |
Unknown | 6 (0.5) | 15 (1.8) | 5 (1.5) | 3 (1.7) | 2 (1.7) |
Signs of haemorrhagic shock – no. (%) | |||||
No | 344 (27.3) | 85 (10.1) | 23 (7.1) | 9 (5.1) | 6 (5.2) |
Yes | 580 (46.0) | 722 (85.4) | 288 (88.6) | 159 (90.3) | 104 (90.4) |
Unknown | 336 (26.7) | 38 (4.5) | 14 (4.3) | 8 (4.5) | 5 (4.3) |