Double Balloon Catheter Tamponade in the Management of Primary Atonic Postpartum Hemorrhage: A Novel Technique in Low Resource Settings

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Egypt

Abstract

Background: Globally, postpartum hemorrhage is the most common cause of maternal death. The American College of
Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends the use of intrauterine balloon tamponade, which can be beneficial
in reducing bleeding owing to uterine atony when uterotonics fail to generate persistent uterine contractions and provide
sufficient control of hemorrhage after delivery.
Objectives: This study was conducted to assess the efficacy of the Novel double balloon catheter tamponade (NDBCT) in the
management of atonic primary postpartum hemorrhage (PPH).
Patients and Methods: This was a prospective study carried out for one year from 01-02-2019 to 30-1-2020 comprised 22
patients diagnosed with atonic PPH following vaginal delivery refractory to the medical treatment. All cases were managed
using the Novel double balloon catheter tamponade (NDBCT)
Results: After application of the NDBCT, bleeding stopped completely in 20 out of 22 cases (90.9%), while it decreased
significantly in one case (4.5%), giving a total success rate (95.4%), while one case failed (4.5%). In addition, there was
highly statistically significant improvement in the mean hemoglobin levels after the operation (P < 0.001).
Conclusions: The NDBCT is likely to be effective in most cases of PPH associated with vaginal delivery, without causing
additional adverse events. Laparotomy with subsequent hysterectomy was avoided in such cases, and fertility was preserved.

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