Shenghua decoction for postpartum hemorrhage attributed to uterine atony: An observational study

Abstract

This retrospective study aimed to investigate the preventive effects of Shenghua decoction (SHD) for postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) attributed to uterine atony (UA). Records of 84 patients were retrospectively analyzed, with 42 assigned to the treatment group and 42 to the control group. Both groups received carbetocin, and patients in the treatment group additionally underwent SHD. Primary endpoints included blood loss and changes in hemoglobin levels. Secondary endpoints encompassed the number of patients requiring uterine massage, additional oxytocic drugs, pulse rate, respiratory rate, systolic blood pressure, and treatment-related adverse events. Patients in the treatment group exhibited superior outcomes in terms of blood loss (P < .01), hemoglobin levels (P = .03), and pulse rate (P < .01) compared to those in the control group. However, no significant differences were observed in the number of patients requiring uterine massage (P = .13), the number of patients needing additional oxytocic drugs (P = .19), respiratory rate (P = .05), and systolic blood pressure (P = .80) between the 2 groups. There were no significant disparities in treatment-related adverse events between the 2 groups. The findings of this study suggest that the preventive effects of SHD combined with carbetocin were superior to those of carbetocin alone for preventing postpartum hemorrhage. However, high-quality prospective studies are needed to validate and confirm these results.