Control of massive hemorrhage: Lessons from Iraq reach the US labor and delivery suite
Transfusion management of massive OB hemorrhage has been enlightened by military trauma care in war
In 2004, the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Hospitals* advised hospitals with obstetric services to conduct simulation training, or drills, that focus on common obstetric emergencies, including hemorrhage.7 Physician-experts have also recommended obstetric hemorrhage drills to improve system response times and effectiveness in managing massive hemorrhage.8,9 An important component of an obstetric hemorrhage drill is to test the preparedness of the blood bank to prepare and transport—rapidly—large volumes of RBCs and clotting factors to the operating room for a bleeding obstetric patient.
By expediting our response to obstetric hemorrhage—through adoption of the lessons learned in war and during simulation training—we can save the life of more mothers.
*Beginning in 2007, known simply as the Joint Commission
