Introduction
Postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) is one of the major causes of maternal mortality and morbidity worldwide.1 It is estimated that 600,000-800,000 women die in childbirth each year and 99% of these occur in developing countries.2 Overall, 25% of deaths in developing world are due to PPH, while the prevalence in Pakistan is 34%.3
Primary PPH is defined as bleeding in excess of 500ml following vaginal delivery or 1000ml following caesarean section (CS) from the birth canal within 24 hours.4 It has many potential causes, but the commonest is uterine atony, responsible for 80% of cases. Other causes of primary PPH include retained placental tissues, uterine rupture, lower genital tract trauma, uterine inversion and consumptive coagulopathy.3
Guidelines for the management of PPH involve a stepwise approach, including the exclusion of retained products and genital tract trauma. Uterine atony is dealt with uterine rubbing and various uterotonic agents such as oxytocin, ergometrine, misoprostol and prostaglandin F2 alpha (PGF2a).
If these attempts fail, surgical intervention would be required such as internal iliac artery ligation, uterine compression sutures and peripartum hysterectomy. Recently uterine balloon temponade has been added to this armamentarium in the management of PPH.5 This procedure is used before any surgical intervention is done. Previously temponade was used to control PPH by uterine packing. Given the difficulty and potential traumatic procedure of insertion of roller gauze packs, the use of uterine balloon temponade has been favoured more recently.6
Successful use of variety of balloon devices has been reported, including Sagstaken-Blakemore tube, Bakri balloon, Rusch balloon, Foley catheters and Condom catheters.5 Success rates of 84% (95% confidence interval [CI], 77.5%-88.8%)[6] has been reported with the use of various balloons. Although reports of success and failure in the use of balloons for obstetric haemorrhage exist, but they do not necessarily include specific indications, methods used, balloon type or reasons for failure.5 Success rates have been reported with use of condoms in low-resource settings.7 As this is the least invasive and most rapid approach, it would be logical to use this as the first step in the management after medical treatment fails and before proceeding to surgical intervention and possible hysterectomy.6 Advantages of this method include avoidance of laparotomy, easy and rapid insertion with minimal anaesthesia, the fact that it can be performed by relatively inexperienced personnel, painless removal, and rapid identification of failed cases.8
As this is a simple procedure to perform, primary health workers can implement it before referring the patient to a tertiary care centre which will minimise blood loss and prevent irreversible shock and mortality.
The current study was planned to evaluate the efficacy of condom balloon temponade to arrest massive haemorrhage.