Patient Blood Management in Cesarean Section

Abstract

Worldwide, every minute a woman dies due to complications during pregnancy, obstetric hemorrhage being the leading cause. However, most of these deaths are preventable with prompt recognition and management. The main objective of its management in the initial phase of resuscitation is to aggressively optimize macro and microhemodynamic parameters by ensuring effective resuscitation. Patient blood management (PBM) consists in the timely application of evidence-based medical and surgical procedures aimed at maintaining hemoglobin concentration, optimizing hemostasis and minimizing blood loss to improve patient outcome, all of these based in three pillars: endogenous erythropoiesis, platelet and coagulation factors function and physiological reserve of anemia. PBM consider various strategies to reach the main goal, including transfusional, non-transfusional and surgical measures. At preoperative period the prevention and treatment of anemia is the corner stone of the PBM guideline. Once at the operating room the fluid management, uterotonic and pro-coagulant drugs, fibrinogen and blood products transfusion play a key role and surgical techniques have to be done if the patient life is threatened. Manage postpartum anemia by appropriate iron administration. Optimize the patient’s physiological response to anemia, treat infections and maximize oxygen delivery to minimize transfusions if they are not strictly necessary.