Journal of Medical - Clinical Research & Reviews
Open AccessImmediate Postpartum Hemorrhage at a Type 2 Health Center in Dakar, Senegal (January 2011 – December 2024): Epidemiology, Management, and Maternal Prognosis
Authors: Cisse M, Cisse A, Biaye B, Gassama O, Diouf A.
Abstract
Objectives: To evaluate the management of immediate postpartum hemorrhage at the Nabil Choucair Health Center by providing a description of its epidemiological, etiological, therapeutic, and prognostic aspects.
Methodology: This is a retrospective, single-center, analytical, and descriptive study of data collected over a 14-year period, from January 1, 2011, to December 31, 2024. It covers 446 women treated for immediate postpartum hemorrhage at the Nabil Choucair Health Center. Data was collected from patients' hospital records using Google Forms and analyzed using R Studio version 2025.05.
Results: The frequency of IPHH was 0.71%. The epidemiological profile was that of a paucipara (41.1%), aged 27, who came on her own in 74.4% of cases, with the majority having had at least four antenatal care visits. Just over a third of patients (35.4%) had experienced an obstetric or medical complication during pregnancy. During labor, 31.1% of patients had at least one abnormality. Delivery was most often vaginal (82.8%), following a full-term pregnancy (89.6%), with a live and healthy newborn (83.4%). The delay in treatment was relatively long, with an average of 123 minutes. Medical management was initiated with uterotonics, mainly oxytocin (96.5%) and misoprostol (48.1%). More than one-third of patients required blood transfusion (35.0%). Among obstetric procedures, uterine revision was the most frequently performed intervention (93%), followed by uterine massage (59.9%). Only 27.8% of patients required mechanical methods, with intravaginal tamponade being the most commonly used. Surgical management was required in 56.5% of cases. Hemostatic hysterectomy, a radical but life-saving procedure, was performed in 8.9% of patients. Anemia was the most frequent complication (43%). The case fatality rate related to immediate postpartum hemorrhage was 4.9%.
Conclusion: Immediate postpartum hemorrhage remains a frequent and potentially life-threatening obstetric emergency. In this study, it was mainly caused by traumatic lesions, uterine atony, and retained placental tissue.
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