Obstetric hemorrhage is challenging to anesthesia providers as it is usually sudden in onset, rapid and maybe life-threatening. The core of management of obstetric hemorrhage is a consensual planning with the formation of a multidisciplinary team and formulating a logistic protocol that can be disseminated locally for managing catastrophes. This article highlights the optimum preoperative care to assess the risk factors and the role of the anesthesiologist.
Although no consensus exists on the definition of massive obstetric hemorrhage, the presence of either of the following has been described: Sudden blood loss > 1500 ml (25% of blood volume), Blood loss > 3000 ml in less than 3 hours (50% of blood volume) Blood loss of 150 ml/minute in 20 minutes (>50% of blood volume) A requirement of acute transfusion of > 4 units of packed red blood cells. The clinical utility of these definitions…
