Feto-maternal outcomes in obstetric patients with near miss morbidity: an audit of obstetric high dependency unit.

AIM: To evaluate and compare the feto-maternal outcomes of pregnant women with potentially life-threatening complications (PLTC) and near miss events admitted to the obstetric high dependency units (OHDU).

METHODS

Pregnant women with PLTC admitted to the OHDU were enrolled. Feto-maternal outcomes, need for NICU admission and neonatal mortality, were compared between women without near miss events (controls) and those with near miss events.

RESULTS

Of the 1505 admissions to the obstetric department during the study period, 1127 delivered at our hospital. Among the deliveries 125 (11%) women were admitted to the OHDU and 19 (15%) of them were referred to the intensive care unit (ICU) of the hospital. The incidence of near miss morbidity (n = 46) was 37% among the mothers admitted to OHDU and 4.1% among the deliveries. The outcomes were similar in both groups for mean birth weight (among live births), neonatal death and still birth or intra-uterine deaths. The mean duration of ICU stay, proportion of ICU admission, and the mean duration of hospital stay were significantly higher for women with near miss events.

CONCLUSION

In the presence of standardized OHDU and an ICU, the feto-maternal outcomes of women with PLTC and near miss event are similar to those without near miss events.