Inferior Vena Cava Diameter and Postpartum Hemorrhage

The Correlation Between Inferior Vena Caval Diameter and the Volume of Postpartum Blood Loss

Excessive bleeding after normal birth or cesarean section is defined as blood loss of 1000 mL or more (clinically estimated) within 24 hours after birth. It occurs in about 5% among postpartum women. Postpartum hemorrhage is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among women giving birth. Postpartum hemorrhage may lead to hemorrhagic shock, renal failure, respiratory failure, need for surgical intervention, blood transfusion and hysterectomy.

The cornerstone of effective treatment is rapid diagnosis and intervention in time. However, in a number of cases there is an underestimation of the volume of blood loss which may lead to delay in diagnosis and treatment. The consequences are even graver in women who delivered by a cesarean section, since unlike a normal birth in which the bleeding is external and visible, the bleeding is usually intra-abdominal, and so the delay in diagnosis may be even longer.

The Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) is a flexible blood vessel sensitive to intravascular blood volume, and its diameter varies accordingly. Its diameter reflects the pressure in the right atrium, which is a measure of the cardiac preload. A number of studies have shown that the IVC diameter changes, before the variations in vital and clinical signs.

Recently, IVC diameter has been assessed as an assessment of intravenous fluid balance in hemodynamically stable patients with a risk of sub-volume shock. The authors concluded that the IVC measurement is a good noninvasive method, compared to catheter insertion into the right atrium, and it is available as a bedside procedure.

In obstetrics the use of IVC to determine blood loos was not widely examined and there is no information regarding the use of IVC diameter as a predictor or as a detection method of postpartum bleeding.

In this study the investigators aim to examine the correlation between IVC diameter and the volume of postpartum blood loss.

Study Overview

• Status: Unknown
• Conditions: Other Immediate Postpartum Hemorrhage, With Delivery
• Intervention / Treatment: Diagnostic test: Ultrasound

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Anticipated): 108

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Manal Massalha, MD; Phone Number: 0506415166; Email: manal.massalha@clalit.org.il
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Raed Salim, MD; Email: salim_ra@clalit.org.il

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: Female

• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

Postpartum women.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Women over the age of 18 after birth
• Single pregnancy
• Vaginal birth
• Term pregnancy (gestational age between week 37-42)
• The newborn is appropriate for gestational age (10-90 percentile)

Exclusion Criteria:

• Gestational or pre-pregnancy hypertension
• Heart, liver, or chronic kidney disease
• Women who delivered newborn with major malformation

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Observational Models: Cohort
• Time Perspectives: Prospective

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Research group; Women with early postpartum hemorrhage.	Diagnostic test: Ultrasound; Ultrasound to measure the IVC diameter. The IVC diameter will be measured in the inspirium and the expirium, and the collapsibility index will be recorded.
Control group; Postpartum women without abnormal bleeding.	Diagnostic test: Ultrasound; Ultrasound to measure the IVC diameter. The IVC diameter will be measured in the inspirium and the expirium, and the collapsibility index will be recorded.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
To examine the correlation between IVC diameter and the volume of postpartum blood loss.	6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
To create a normogram of IVC diameter in postpartum women and to check whether there is a cutt-of value that appears before the onset of clinical signs of blood loss.	6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: HaEmek Medical Center, Israel
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Manal Massalha, Massalha, Emek Medical Center

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Committee on Practice Bulletins-Obstetrics. Practice Bulletin No. 183: Postpartum Hemorrhage. Obstet Gynecol. 2017 Oct;130(4):e168-e186. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000002351.
• Callaghan WM, Kuklina EV, Berg CJ. Trends in postpartum hemorrhage: United States, 1994-2006. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2010 Apr;202(4):353.e1-6. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2010.01.011.
• Byeon K, Choi JO, Yang JH, Sung J, Park SW, Oh JK, Hong KP. The response of the vena cava to abdominal breathing. J Altern Complement Med. 2012 Feb;18(2):153-7. doi: 10.1089/acm.2010.0656.
• Grant E, Rendano F, Sevinc E, Gammelgaard J, Holm HH, Gronvall S. Normal inferior vena cava: caliber changes observed by dynamic ultrasound. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 1980 Aug;135(2):335-8. doi: 10.2214/ajr.135.2.335.
• Kusaba T, Yamaguchi K, Oda H, Harada T. Echography of inferior vena cava for estimating fluid removed from patients undergoing hemodialysis. Nihon Jinzo Gakkai Shi. 1994 Aug;36(8):914-20.
• Lyon M, Blaivas M, Brannam L. Sonographic measurement of the inferior vena cava as a marker of blood loss. Am J Emerg Med. 2005 Jan;23(1):45-50. doi: 10.1016/j.ajem.2004.01.004.
• Rahman NH, Ahmad R, Kareem MM, Mohammed MI. Ultrasonographic assessment of inferior vena cava/abdominal aorta diameter index: a new approach of assessing hypovolemic shock class 1. Int J Emerg Med. 2016 Dec;9(1):8. doi: 10.1186/s12245-016-0101-z. Epub 2016 Feb 19.
• Hernandez CA, Reed KL, Juneman EB, Cohen WR. Changes in Sonographically Measured Inferior Vena Caval Diameter in Response to Fluid Loading in Term Pregnancy. J Ultrasound Med. 2016 Feb;35(2):389-94. doi: 10.7863/ultra.15.04036. Epub 2016 Jan 18.
• Ryo E, Unno N, Hagino D, Kozuma S, Nagasaka T, Taketani Y. Inferior vena cava diameter and the risk of pregnancy-induced hypertension and fetal compromise. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 1999 May;65(2):143-8. doi: 10.1016/s0020-7292(99)00027-2.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Anticipated): November 10, 2018
• Primary Completion (Anticipated): April 30, 2019
• Study Completion (Anticipated): April 30, 2019

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 4, 2018
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 5, 2018
• First Posted (Actual): November 6, 2018

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): November 6, 2018
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 5, 2018
• Last Verified: November 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Inferior Vena Cava Diameter
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pathologic Processes; Pregnancy Complications; Obstetric Labor Complications; Puerperal Disorders; Uterine Hemorrhage; Hemorrhage; Postpartum Hemorrhage
• Other Study ID Numbers: HaEmek

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: Yes
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No