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To determine a minimum threshold of human resources (midwives, obstetricians and gynecologists, anesthesiology and intensive care units, pediatricians) to ensure the safety and quality of unplanned activities in Obstetrics and Gynecology.Consultation of the MedLine database, the Cochrane Library and the recommendations of authorities. Meetings of representative members in different modes of practice (university, hospital, liberal) under the aegis of and belonging to the French College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (CNGOF), the French Society of Anesthesia and Resuscitation (SFAR), the French Society of Neonatalogy (SFN), the French Society of Perinatal Medicine (SFMP), the French College of Midwives (CNSF), the French Federation of Perinatal Care Networks (FFRSP) with elaboration of a re-read text by external experts, in particular by the members of the Boards of Directors of these authorities and of Club of Anesthesiology-Intensive Care Medicine in Obstetrics (CARO).Different minimum thresholds for each category of caregivers were proposed based on the number of births/year. These proposed minimum thresholds can be modulated upwards according to the types (level I, IIA, IIB or III) or the activity (existence of an emergency reception service, maternal-fetal and/or surgical activity of resort or referral). Due to peak activity and the possibility of unpredictable concomitance of urgent medical procedures, it is necessary that organizations plan to use resource persons. The occupancy rate of the target beds of a maternity ward must be 85%.These proposed minimum thresholds are intended to help caregivers providing non-scheduled perinatal as well as Obstetrics and Gynecology care to make the most of the human resources allocated to institutional bodies to ensure their safety and quality.

To describe the clinical and pharmacological procedures for the prevention of Postpartum Haemorrhage (PPH).We searched the Medline and the Cochrane Library (1st December 2004 to 1st March 2014) and we checked the international guidelines.Vaginal birth: only the use of uterotonics reduces the incidence of PPH. Oxytocin is the treatment of choice if it is readily available (grade A). Oxytocin can be used either after the shoulders expulsion or rapidly after the placental delivery (grade B). A dose of 5 or 10IU must be administrated IV over at least 1minute or directly by an intramuscular injection (professional agreement) except in women with documented cardiovascular disease in which the duration of the IV perfusion should be over at least 5minutes (professional agreement). Mechanical procedures have no significant impact on PPH. The decision to use a collector bag is left to the medical team (professional agreement). A systematic complementary oxytocin perfusion is not recommended (professional agreement). Caesarean delivery: There is no evidence to recommend a particular type of caesarean technique to prevent PPH (professional agreement) but a lower uterine section is recommended (grade B). All types of incision expansion may be used (professional agreement). A controlled cord traction is associated with lower blood losses than manual removal of the placenta (grade B). A dose of 5 or 10IU can be injected (IV) over 1minute, and over 5minutes in women with cardiovascular disease (professional agreement). Carbetocin reduces the incidence of PPH but there is presently no inferiority study comparing oxytocin and carbetocin so that oxytocin remains the gold standard therapy to prevent PPH in C-section (professional agreement).

Risk factors of maternal morbidity and mortality during postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) include non-optimal anesthetic management. As the anesthetic management of the initial phase is addressed elsewhere, the current chapter is dedicated to the management of severe PPH.A literature search was performed using PubMed and Medline databases, and the Cochrane Library, for articles published from 2003 up to and including 2013. Several keywords related to anesthetic and critical care practice, and obstetrical management were used, in various combinations. Guidelines from several societies and organisations were also read.When PPH worsens, one should ask for additional team personnel (professional consensus). Patients should be monitored for heart rate, blood pressure, skin and mucosal pallor, bleeding at skin puncture sites, diuresis and the volume of genital bleeding (grade B). Because of the possible rapid worsening of coagulapathy, patients should undergo regular evaluation of coagulation status (professional consensus). Prevention and management of hypothermia should be considered (professional consensus), by warming intravenous fluids and blood products, and by active body warming (grade C). Antibiotics should be given, if not already administered at the initial phase (professional consensus). Vascular fluids must be given (grade B), the choice being left at the physician discretion. Blood products transfusion should be decided based on the clinical severity of PPH (professional consensus). Priority is given to red blood cells (RBC) transfusion, with the aim to maintain Hb concentration8g/dL. The first round of products could include 3 units of RBC (professional consensus), and the following round 3 units of RBC, and 3 units of fresh frozen plasma (FFP). The FFP:RBC ratio should be kept between 1:2 and 1:1 (professional consensus). Depending on the etiology of PPH, the early administration of FFP is left at the discretion of the physician (professional consensus). Platelet count should be maintained at50 G/L (professional consensus). During massive PPH, fibrinogen concentration should be maintained at2g/L (professional consensus). Fibrinogen can be given without prior fibrinogen measurement in case of massive bleeding (professional consensus). General anesthesia should be considered in case of hemodynamic instability, even when an epidural catheter is in place (professional consensus).The anesthetic management aims to restore and maintain optimal respiratory state and circulation, to treat coagulation disorders, and to allow invasive obstetrical and radiologic procedures. Clinical and instrumental monitoring are needed to evaluate the severity of PPH, to guide the choice of therapeutic options, and to assess treatments efficacy.

Journal de Gynecologie Obstetrique et Biologie de la Reproduction - Vol. 43 - N° 10 - p. 1030-1062

During pregnancy, the occurrence of aortic dissection is a rare event immediately threatening fetal and maternal prognosis. Its occurrence is more common in cases of connective tissue disease. But the absence risk factor shall not exclude or delay diagnosis. We must learn to think about it, because the prognosis is highly dependent on time management. The clinical presentation of this medical and surgical emergency varies, and pregnancy adds its own symptoms. We have to ask without hesitation that echocardiography or chest CT be performed since these diagnostic methods are both reliable and available.

Assess the efficacy and safety of tranexamic acid administration for the prevention and/or the treatment of postpartum haemorrhage.Systematic review with meta-analysis.Systematic review of the literature with the aim of identifying prospective, randomised, controlled trials that assessed the effect of tranexamic acid on peripartum blood loss and transfusion requirement in three clinical contexts: (i) prevention of post-partum haemorrhage in case of elective caesarean section, (ii) prevention of post-partum haemorrhage in case of vaginal delivery, (iii) treatment of post-partum haemorrhage.Prophylactic administration of tranexamic acid reduced blood loss (mean difference for intraoperative blood loss: -177.9mL, IC 95%: -189.51 to -166.35, total blood loss: -183.94, IC 95%: -198.29 to -169.60), and the incidence of severe post-partum haemorrhage (OR: 0.49, IC 95%: 0.33 to 0.74). None of the published trials assessed the effect of tranexamic acid on blood products administration or transfusion requirement. Only one study assessed and reported the efficacy of tranexamic acid when administered as a treatment for postpartum haemorrhage. A significant reduction in blood loss was reported within 30 minutes after randomisation (P=0.03) and confirmed after 6 hours (median: 170mL (58-323) vs 221mL (110-543), P=0.04). None of the included studies adequately studied the incidence of side effects after tranexamic acid administration.Although tranexamic acid administration seemed to significantly reduce blood loss and the incidence of severe post-partum haemorrhage, further prospective trials are needed to confirm the efficacy and safety of tranexamic administration in the treatment of postpartum haemorrhage. Those studies should assess the pharmacokinetic profile and the safety of this drug in pregnant women.

The equipment and practices in obstetric analgesia, anaesthesia and intensive care, as well as their evolution between 2003 and 2010 in metropolitan France, were described.Data were derived from two representative samples of births in 2003 and 2010, based on all births in France during one week. The sample included 534 maternity units and 14,903 births in 2010 and 618 maternity units and 14,737 births in 2003.The caesarean operating room was adjacent or inside the labour ward in 66% of maternity units in 2010 vs 56% in 2003. An anaesthetist was appointed permanently to the labour ward in 38.9% of maternity units in 2010 vs 21.5% in 2003. Locoregional analgesia or anaesthesia rate increased significantly: 81.5% in 2010 compared to 74.9% in 2003. Almost all operative vaginal deliveries were performed under epidural anesthesia in 2010. Patient controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA) was available in 58% of the units in 2010 but only 34.2% of women had PCEA. Newborn's resuscitations were performed mainly by paediatricians in 2010, but 11.4% of children were resuscitated by an anaesthetist in level 1 maternity units.The conditions required to ensure anaesthetic care safety in maternity units has improved since 2003. Improvements in quality of care are still possible.

Postpartum haemorrhage is the leading cause of maternal death in France and worldwide. Guidelines help to conduct a timed management and to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality. Rescue and surgical care, transfusion and monitoring have to be previously organized.

Clotting disorders are associated with the severe, early and complicated forms of PE. Compensated hypercoagulability states associated with a thrombocytopenia (PLT150k/mm(3)) affect 25 to 50% of severe PE patients. Laboratory markers of platelet and endothelial activation are the early increase of fibronectin levels, the worsening of the thrombocytopenia and the raised platelet turnover. The excessive thrombin formation is physiologically compensated by a rise in thrombin-antithrombin (TAT) complex levels, which is the most specific marker of a PE pregnancy, and a decrease in anti-thrombin (AT) activity. The placenta induced depression of the fibrinolysis appears to contribute towards the hypercoagulable state. The etiological importance of the erythrocyte and leucocyte activation with regards to the abnormal clotting activation is highlighted in the setting of maternal systematic inflammatory disease. The state of compensated coagulopathy found in the PE patient can suffer a pro-coagulatory imbalance because of a quantitative, or a qualitative failure (i.e. thrombophilia) of the physiological coagulation inhibitors, or a combination of both. This disseminated intravascular coagulation, qualified as chronic, is associated with clinically evident signs of foeto-placental unit impairment (i.e. IUGR, foetal death) with or without systemic repercussions in the mother (i.e. renal failure, HELLP syndrome, eclampsia). This set of haemostatic disturbances found in the PE patient is a dynamic phenomenon, which can evolve by the hour therefore requires frequent laboratory investigations. Delivery remains the only curative treatment for these haemostatic disturbances. A better understanding of the aetiology of DIC in PE, an early detection method and a specific identification of the at-risk patients could allow prophylactic and curative treatment.

The evolution of birth is of interest for obstetricians and midwives. Postures with asymmetric stretching and balance, kneeling, or sitting have been claimed to be able to help foetal head rotation. Although walking during labour have no influence on the outcome of labour, hip-flexed postures enlarging the pelvic diameter are yet evaluated to improve the obstetric course of labour. In a prospective randomised study including 93 parturients, we compared the supine 30 degrees lateral tilt (control group) to three hip-flexed postures: sitting (S), right hip-flexed left lateral position (L) and left hip-flexed right lateral position (R). Epidural analgesia with 12 ml ropivacaine 0.1% and sufentanil 0.5 microg/ml was administered over a period of six minutes. The total epidural spread was 15+/-0.3 dermatomes and the upper level of thermo-analgesic blockade reached T7-T8 (T5 to T10) in each group. There were no differences between groups for the left and right total spread and upper level of epidural blockade, for the time to maximal block and pain relief. There was no motor block and no maternal or foetal side effects. We conclude that, for the three hip-flexed postures tested, position does not influence local anesthetic spread or symmetry of analgesia after induction of obstetric epidural anaesthesia.

The ex utero intrapartum treatment (EXIT) procedure is a surgical procedure maintaining utero-placental circulation during caesarean section. Anaesthetic implications are described: foetal transplacental anaesthesia to avoid first breathing and to permit surgical procedure on obstructed foetal airway, deep maternal haemodynamically stable anaesthesia to relax uterine smooth muscle during a long caesarean procedure but avoiding post-partum haemorrhage. Volatile anaesthesia with sevoflurane seems to be adequate for these aims. Two cases are described.

The use of epidural analgesia and anaesthesia is controversial in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) due to the potential neurotoxicity of local anaesthetics. The aim of this study was to evaluate the place and the safety of epidural obstetrical analgesia in these patients.A consecutive series of 19 patients with MS was studied over 4 years, recording the type of anaesthesia and the obstetric and neurologic observations during the pregnancy and post-partum.Ten patients had epidural analgesia. One patient had a caesarean section under epidural anaesthesia. Five patients relapsed during the post-partum period. Only one of them had an epidural for a spontaneous vaginal delivery, without any evidence of a causal relationship. Spinal anaesthesia is generally not advocated in the presence of MS due to concerns relating to the stronger local anaesthetics required and was therefore not used.The results confirm that epidural analgesia is innocuous in this context. The important points are the precise evaluation of the existing neurological symptoms and the sparing of local anaesthetics thanks to the addition of opioids.

Introduction of new legal texts in 1994-1995 has certainly contributed to the improved safety of anaesthesia practice in France. More recently also legal texts have been published in this country to improve the practice of obstetrics. These two series of texts have had a significant impact on obstetric anaesthesia, improving care directly related to anaesthesia practice (such as visit with an anaesthetist during pregnancy for every patient) but also care of patients with maternal disease through the implementation of regionalisation and of perinatal networks. Significant problems however need to be solved if one wants that improvement in quality continues. Precise evaluation of practice patterns and of outcomes will become possible only when well-defined indicators will have been found and accepted. Also, regionalisation of obstetric services has led to a profound change in workload with an increase in both anaesthesic procedures and stress related to urgency situations in tertiary level perinatal units. Regionalisation has been introduced to reduce perinatal mortality and morbidity. However, maternal complications of obstetric or of pre-existing diseases may require specific competence that may not be available in perinatal centres specifically organized to improve neonatal outcome. High-level perinatal centres should thus be able to care for both the mother and the neonate. Alternatively, when not feasible, specific rules or protocols should be made available to optimize the transfer while taking into account the severity of maternal disease. All these continuing improvements will however be possible only if shortage of specialists of perinatal care stops.

Pregnancy complicated by the HELLP syndrome and antiphospholipid syndrome have rarely been reported. We report a study on anticardiolipin antibodies in HELLP syndrome.Between March 1996 and September 1999, anticardiolipin antibodies were checked in all women with HELLP syndrome hospitalised in a maternity of the North of France. The women with positive anticardiolipin antibodies were seen month later in a internal medicine department.In the period 68 women with HELLP syndrome were checked for anticardiolipin antibodies. Apl were present in 9 patients (Incidence 42.8/1000 HELLP Year). They persisted after the accident only in 3 patients. Antiphospholipid syndrome was diagnosed in 2 patients, prevalence between the HELLP syndrome for the 42 month period was 0.03.HELLP syndrome may be a manifestation linked to the antiphospholipid syndrome and may revealed it.

After a normal pregnancy and labour in a 29-year-old parturient, a single seizure followed by a transient headache was observed during the uterine revision for placental retention. Mild uterine haemorrhage of 150 ml per hour without any uterine atony was associated with activation of clotting and fibrinolysis (decrease of fibrinogen, elevated fibrin soluble complexes and D-dimers). A ten fold value of foetal blood cells in maternal serum suggested the diagnosis of amniotic fluid embolism. Atypical forms of amniotic fluid embolism and their diagnosis are discussed.