Abstract

NTULI, T S et al. Obstetric intensive care admissions at a tertiary hospital in Limpopo Province, South Africa. South. Afr. j. crit. care (Online) [online]. 2015, vol.31, n.1, pp.8-10. ISSN 2078-676X.  http://dx.doi.org/10.7196/SAJCC.164.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the characteristics of obstetric patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) at a tertiary hospital in the Limpopo Province, South Africa. METHODS: Hospital files of all obstetric patients admitted to the Pietersburg provincial referral hospital ICU from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2012 were retrospectively reviewed. Age, parity, admission diagnosis, length of stay, information on the referring hospitals, and maternal outcomes were analysed. RESULTS: There were 138 obstetric ICU admissions during the study period (6.7% of all ICU admissions and 0.95% of all deliveries). The most common reasons for obstetric ICU admissions were pre-eclampsia or eclampsia (52.9%, n=73/138) and obstetric haemorrhage (18.1%, n=25/138). The mean age of the patients was 28 years, and mean duration of ICU stay was 8 days (range 0 - 163 days). Forty-eight maternal deaths occurred (34.8%), and of these, 27 were referrals from other hospitals (district and regional hospitals). Pre-eclampsia or eclampsia accounted for 25 (52%) of all deaths. CONCLUSION: Obstetric patients formed a small proportion ofICU admissions, but mortality among these patients was high. It is recommended that obstetric registrars rotate through a multidisciplinary ICU, and the need for a critical care specialist should be considered.

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