OBJECTIVE:

To determine the morbidity and mortality due to the application of massive transfusion protocols in patients with obstetric hemorrhage treated in intensive care.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

study of a retrospective cohort of patients with severe obstetric hemorrhage treated in the obstetric intensive care unit of the maternal and child hospital of the social Security Institute of the State of Mexico and municipalities, between september 2014 and may 2019. three massive transfusion protocols were compared in which blood derivatives were applied in relation to the ratio of erythrocyte concentrate, platelets and plasma with the following ratios: 2:1:1, 1:1:1 and liberal. to analyze the possible association of complications with the choice of the different mass transfusion protocols, an anova and χ2 test was used in the spss version 21 program; the value of p < 0.05 was considered significant.

RESULTS:

Seventy-five patients with a mean age of 32.8 years were analyzed; 63 were multigrafted. The main cause of obstetric bleeding was uterine atony. 51 of 75 of the mass transfusion protocols were liberal, 11 of them with a 2:1:1 ratio and 4 of 51 of 1:1:1. The complications were: acute respiratory failure syndrome, acute renal injury, acute renal injury originated by transfusion, infections and surgical reintervention. Positive association was found with: days of stay in intensive care (p = 0.031), surgical reintervention (p = 0.006) and acute respiratory failure syndrome (p = 0.044) and liberal mass transfusion protocols with respect to 1:1:1 ratio protocols. Only one patient died and this was associated with the liberal mass transfusion protocols.

CONCLUSIONS:

The application of 1:1:1 and 2:1:1 mass transfusion protocols in patients with severe obstetric hemorrhage decreases the risk of complications. Maternal mortality due to the application of liberal mass transfusion protocols was only one case in 51 patients.