Open AccessImplementation of a maternal early warning system during early postpartum. A prospective observational study
Author(s) -
Cristina Ibáñez-Lorente,
R. Casans Francés,
Soledad Bellas-Cotán,
Luis E. Muñoz-Alameda
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0252446
Subject(s) - medicine , mews , blood pressure , observational study , obstetrics and gynaecology , early warning score , prospective cohort study , multivariate analysis , emergency medicine , heart rate , obstetrics , pregnancy , cardiology , biology , genetics
Objective To evaluate the implementation of a maternal early warning system (MEWS) for monitoring patients during the first two hours after delivery in a tertiary level hospital. Methods Implementation of the criteria between 15 March and 15 September 2018 was evaluated in 1166 patients. The parameters collected were systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen saturation, urine output, uterine involution, and bleeding. Out-of-range values of any of these parameters triggered a warning, and an obstetrician was called to examine the patient. The obstetrician then decided whether to call the anesthesiologist. We carried out a sensitivity-specificity study of triggers and a multivariate analysis of the factors involved in developing potentially fatal disorders (PFD), reintervention, critical care admission, and stay. Results The MEWS was triggered in 75 patients (6.43%). Leading trigger was altered systolic blood pressure in 32 patients (42.7%), and 11 patients had a PFD. Twenty-eight triggers were false-negatives. Sensitivity and specificity of the system was 0.28 (0.15, 0.45) and 0.94 (0.93, 0.96), respectively. The multivariate analysis showed a correlation between trigger activation and PFD. Conclusion Our MEWS presented low sensitivity and high specificity, with a significant number of false-negatives.