Introduction of a Novel System for Quantitating Blood Loss After Vaginal Delivery: A Retrospective Interrupted Time Series Analysis With Concurrent Control Group

Background Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is a leading cause of maternal mortality worldwide. While volumetric and gravimetric blood loss measurement techniques have been shown to increase PPH detection compared to visual estimation of blood loss (vBL), a combination of these methods has not been evaluated. The primary aim of this study was to compare the change in odds of PPH detection after vaginal delivery (VD; the intervention series) versus cesarean delivery (CD; the control series) before versus after implementation of a device (Triton LD P = .004) for VDs versus 1.43 (95% CI, 0.72-2.85; P = .304) for CDs (P for interaction .190). No difference was detected in the secondary outcomes for VDs between time periods. In the subgroup of VD patients who had postdelivery hematocrits measured, the mean difference between vBL or tBL and cBL was smaller in the tBL (mean ± standard deviation [SD]: -237 ± 522 mL) versus vBL group (-600 ± 596 mL; weighted difference in means [95% CI]: 349 mL [13-684]; P = .042). Conclusions In this interrupted time series analysis, the odds of PPH detection after VD increased after implementation of the tBL device. However, a statistical difference was not detected between the increase in PPH detection post- versus preimplementation of the device in VDs versus CDs.