BACKGROUND:

Vaginal impingement of the uterine arteries is an effective technique to stop obstetric hemorrhage; acts as a tourniquet that contains blood loss.

OBJECTIVE:

To analyze the cases of patients who underwent Zea impingement.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

Observational, descriptive, cross-sectional and retrospective study carried out on patients treated at the Hospital de la Mujer de Aguascalientes (Mexico) between January and December 2016, who underwent vaginal clamping of the uterine arteries using the Zea technique for obstetric hemorrhage control.

RESULTS:

83 cases of patients diagnosed with primary postpartum haemorrhage were found and the case of 22 in whom the Zea impingement was performed was analyzed. 63.9% were between 20 and 34 years of age (mean of 25.3 years), 78% were full-term pregnancies. The associated risk factors were: second pregnancy, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, anemia, prolonged labor, precipitated delivery and treatment with magnesium sulfate. The impingement time had an average of 6.3 hours. The average difference between the bleeding when applying the impingement and the total hemorrhage was 311 mL.

CONCLUSION:

The incidence of postpartum hemorrhage was 0.8%, lower than that reported in the literature. The Zea technique is an effective option for the control of obstetric hemorrhage.