Relationship between the hemodynamic profile and resistant hypertension in pregnant patients with hypertensive crisis.

OBJECTIVE: Reducing maternal morbidity and mortality has been a challenge for low and middle-income countries, especially in the setting of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. Improved strategies for treating obstetric patients with resistant hypertension are needed. We sought to explore whether hemodynamic parameters may be used to identify patients that develop resistant hypertension in pregnancy. METHODS: Retrospective cohort study among pregnant patients with gestational hypertension or preeclampsia that experienced severe blood pressure elevations. Hemodynamic variables were evaluated, including cardiac output (CO), and total peripheral resistance (TPR). The primary endpoint was resistant hypertension. An exploratory logistic regression was performed to evaluate the association between the hemodynamic profile and the development of resistant hypertension. Adverse maternal and fetal outcomes were additionally described according to the presence of resistant hypertension. RESULTS: Fifty-seven patients with severe pregnancy hypertension were included, of whom 34 developed resistant hypertension (59.7%). The resistant hypertension group, in comparison to those without resistant hypertension, presented with a hypodynamic profile characterized by reduced CO < 5 L/min (41.2% vs. 8.7%, p: 0.007), and increased TPR > 1400 dyn-s/cm5 (64.7% vs. 39.1%, p: 0.057). Logistic regression analysis revealed an association between a hypodynamic profile and resistant hypertension (OR 3.252, 95% CI 1.079-9.804; p = 0.035). Newborns of the resistant hypertension group had more frequent low birth weight (<2500 g), low Apgar scores, ICU admissions, and acute respiratory distress syndrome. CONCLUSION: Patients experiencing hypertensive crisis during pregnancy and exhibiting a hypodynamic profile (TPR ≥1400 dyn·s/cm5 and CO ≤ 5 L/min) developed higher rates of resistant hypertension.

Performance of the INTERGROWTH-21st and World Health Organization fetal growth charts for the detection of small-for-gestational age neonates in Latin America.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the performance of INTERGROWTH-21st (IG-21st ) and World Health Organization (WHO) fetal growth charts to identify small-for-gestational-age (SGA) and fetal growth restriction (FGR) neonates, as well as their specific risks for adverse neonatal outcomes. METHODS: Multicenter cross-sectional study including 67 968 live births from 10 maternity units across four Latin American countries. According to each standard, neonates were classified as SGA and FGR (birth weight <10th and less than third centiles, respectively). The relative risk (RR) and diagnostic performance for a low APGAR score and low ponderal index were calculated for each standard. RESULTS: WHO charts identified more neonates as SGA than IG-21st (13.9% vs 7%, respectively). Neonates classified as having FGR by both standards had the highest RR for a low APGAR (RR, 5.57 [95% confidence interval (CI), 3.99-7.78]), followed by those who were SGA by both curves (RR, 3.27 [95% CI, 2.52-4.24]), while neonates with SGA identified by WHO alone did not have an additional risk (RR, 0.87 [95% CI, 0.55-1.39]). Furthermore, the diagnostic odds ratio for a low APGAR was higher when IG-21st was used. CONCLUSION: In a population from Latin America, the WHO charts seem to identify more SGA neonates, but the diagnostic performance of the IG-21st charts for low APGAR score and low ponderal index is better.

Performance of the Obstetric Early Warning Score in critically ill patients for the prediction of maternal death.

BACKGROUND: Every day, about 830 women die worldwide from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. Obstetric early warning scores have been proposed as a potential tool to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality, based on the identification of predetermined abnormal values in the vital signs or laboratory parameters, to generate a rapid and effective medical response. Several early warning scores have been developed for obstetrical patients, but the majority are the result of a clinical consensus rather than statistical analyses of clinical outcome measures (ie, maternal deaths). In 2013, the Intensive Care National Audit and Research Center Case Mix Program reported the first statistically validated early warning scoring system for pregnant women. OBJECTIVE: We sought to assess the performance of the Intensive Care National Audit and Research Center Obstetric Early Warning Score in predicting death among pregnant women who required admission to the intensive care unit. STUDY DESIGN: This retrospective cohort study included pregnant women admitted to the intensive care unit at a tertiary referral center from January 2006 through December 2011 in Colombia, a developing country, with direct and indirect obstetric-related conditions. The Obstetric Early Warning Score was calculated based on data collected during the first 24 hours of intensive care unit admission. The Obstetric Early Warning Score is calculated based on values of the following variables: systolic and diastolic blood pressure, respiratory rate, heart rate, fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2) required to maintain an oxygen saturation ≥96%, temperature, and level of consciousness. The performance of the Obstetric Early Warning Score was evaluated using the area under the receiver operator characteristic curve. Outcomes selected were: maternal death, need for mechanical ventilation, and/or vasoactive support. Statistical methods included distribution appropriate univariate analyses and multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: During the study period, 50,897 births were recorded. There were 724 obstetric admissions to critical care, for an intensive care unit admission rate of 14.22 per 1000 deliveries. A total of 702 women were included in the study, with 29 (4.1%) maternal deaths, and a mortality ratio of 56.98 deaths per 100,000 live births. The most frequent causes of admission were direct, obstetric-related conditions (n = 534; 76.1%). The Obstetric Early Warning Score value was significantly higher in nonsurvivors than in survivors [12 (interquartile range 10-13) vs 7 (interquartile range 4-9); P < .001]. Peripartum women with normal values of Obstetric Early Warning Score had 0% mortality rate, while those with high Obstetric Early Warning Score values (>6) had a mortality rate of 6.3%. The area under the receiver operator characteristic curve of the Obstetric Early Warning Score in discrimination of maternal death was 0.84 (95% confidence interval, 0.75-0.92). The overall predictive value of the Obstetric Early Warning Score was better when the main cause of admission was directly related to pregnancy or the postpartum state. The area under the receiver operator characteristic curve of the score in conditions directly related to pregnancy and postpartum was 0.87 (95% confidence interval, 0.79-0.95), while in indirectly related conditions the area under the receiver operator characteristic curve was 0.77 (95% confidence interval, 0.58-0.96). CONCLUSION: Although there are opportunities for improvement, Obstetric Early Warning Score obtained upon admission to the intensive care unit can predict survival in conditions directly related to pregnancy and postpartum. The use of early warning scores in obstetrics may be a highly useful approach in the early identification of women at an increased risk of dying.

The impact of Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics (ALSO) training in low-resource countries.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of the Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics (ALSO) program on maternal outcomes in four low-income countries. METHODS: Data were obtained from single-center, longitudinal cohort studies in Colombia, Guatemala, and Honduras, and from an uncontrolled prospective trial in Tanzania. RESULTS: In Colombia, maternal morbidity and the number of near misses increased after ALSO training, but maternal mortality decreased. In Guatemala, sustained reductions in overall maternal mortality and mortality from postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) were recorded after ALSO implementation. In Honduras, there was a significant decrease in episiotomy rates, and increases in active management of the third stage of labor (AMTSL), vacuum-assisted delivery, and reported comfort managing obstetric emergencies. In Tanzania, the frequency of PPH and severe PPH decreased after training, while management improved. CONCLUSION: In low-income countries, ALSO training was associated with decreased in-hospital maternal mortality, episiotomy use, and PPH. AMTSL and vacuum-assisted vaginal delivery increased in frequency after ALSO training.

Mortality risk prediction with an updated Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score in critically ill obstetric patients: a cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) score has shown low prognostic ability to predict death in the obstetric population. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether an updated form of the APACHE II score would perform better in predicting mortality in critically ill obstetric patients. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of pregnant and postpartum women (up to 42 days after delivery) who were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) was carried out at an ICU at Rafael Calvo Maternity Hospital, a large obstetric hospital in Colombia. Data were collected on consecutive obstetric patients admitted to the ICU between 2006 and 2011. A discrimination and calibration analysis was completed on the original APACHE II score and an updated APACHE II score. RESULTS: Data were collected on a total of 726 obstetric patients. The area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve was 0.86 (95% confidence interval [95% CI], 0.80-0.93) for both APACHE II and the updated APACHE II scores. Mortality ratio for the original APACHE II was 0.30 (95% CI, 0.19-0.41) and 0.85 (95% CI, 0.56-1.24) for the updated APACHE II. CONCLUSIONS: The APACHE II overestimates mortality in the sample population. The updated APACHE II model predicts mortality more accurately in the obstetric population. This formula may be useful in adapting the existing APACHE II to current mortality risk in obstetric critical care populations.