An Audit Review of Obstetric Patients Admitted in the Intensive Care Unit in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape South Africa: a review of characteristics and outcomes.

Abstract

Background: Although most pregnancies proceed uneventfully, a proportion of pregnancies and deliveries
may present with complications that require critical care.
Objectives: To investigate the characteristics, clinical data and outcomes of obstetric patients transferred from
Dora Nginza Hospital High Care Unit to Livingstone Hospital Intensive Care Unit.
Methods: This was a retrospective descriptive study; clinical records of antenatal and postpartum patients
that were transferred from Dora Nginza Hospital HCU to Livingstone Hospital ICU from January 2015 to
December 2016, were reviewed. Data were collected on patient characteristics, diagnoses, and reasons for
referral and ICU admission.
Results: The fi le records of 1 498 obstetric patients admitted to Dora Nginza Hospital HCU, were included
in the study; 31/1498 (2.1%) patients were transferred to Livingstone Hospital ICU. Hypertensive disorders
843/1498 (56.3%), obstetric haemorrhage 481/1498 (32.1%), chronic conditions 96/1498 (6.4%) and
respiratory infections 75/1498 (5.0%) were the major reasons for admission to the HCU. Patients in the age
groups 20 – 29 years and 30 – 39 years accounted for the highest percentages of admission, regardless
of reason for admission. Thirty-one patients were transferred from the HCU to ICU, 9/31 (29.0%) due to
hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and 8/31 (25.8%) due to postpartum haemorrhage.
Conclusion: Our results were consistent with global data showing most frequent indications for ICU
admission are postpartum haemorrhage and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. In our study, age had no
infl uence on ICU admission.