Volume 51, Issue 2 pp. 362-372
REVIEW

The role of ultrasound in the diagnosis and management of postpartum hemorrhage

Ilenia Mappa

Ilenia Mappa

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Fondazione Policlinico Tor Vergata Roma, Università di Roma Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy

Search for more papers by this author
Lodovico Patrizi

Lodovico Patrizi

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Fondazione Policlinico Tor Vergata Roma, Università di Roma Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy

Search for more papers by this author
Giuseppe Maria Maruotti

Giuseppe Maria Maruotti

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Università di Napoli Federico II, Naples, Italy

Search for more papers by this author
Luigi Carbone

Luigi Carbone

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Università di Napoli Federico II, Naples, Italy

Search for more papers by this author
Francesco D'Antonio

Francesco D'Antonio

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Università di Chieti, Chieti, Italy

Search for more papers by this author
Giuseppe Rizzo

Corresponding Author

Giuseppe Rizzo

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Fondazione Policlinico Tor Vergata Roma, Università di Roma Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy

Correspondence

Giuseppe Rizzo, Università di Roma Tor Vergata, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Fondazione Policlinico Tor Vergata, Viale Oxford 81, 00133 Roma Italy.

Email: [email protected]

Search for more papers by this author
First published: 13 February 2023
Citations: 1

Abstract

Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is the leading cause of death or severe morbidity for the mother after delivery. As a consequence healthcare staff working in the delivery room should be trained to perform a prompt diagnosis and adequate management of PPH. Uneventful outcome is induced correct identification of the underlying cause of hemorrhage. Ultrasound is a promising technique for the prompt diagnosis of PPH etiology. Indeed, it is easily available, with relatively low cost, not using ionizing radiation, and can be used in different settings including the labor room, the operating theater and at the bedside of an affected women. In order to be effective Obstetricians should have an adequate knowledge of postpartum ultrasonography. In this article, we will review the sonographic findings occurring in PPH, in the differential diagnosis of the underlying cause of hemorrhage, that include retained placenta, morbidly adherent placenta, rupture of the uterus uterine, vascular anomalies of the uterine arteries and uterine inversion. We will also provide an algorithm to manage PPH according to the ultrasonographic findings.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The authors report no conflict of interest.

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analyzed in this study.

The full text of this article hosted at iucr.org is unavailable due to technical difficulties.