A Comparison Between Visual Estimation and Laboratory Detennination of Blood Loss During the Third Stage of Labour

Abstract

A prospective study was conducted to compare the accuracy of visual estimation of blood loss (EBL) at delivery with laboratory determination of measured blood loss (MBL). It showed that EBL tends to be clouded by the conventional teaching that blood loss at delivery is usually between 200 to 300 mL. Women with MBL up to 150 mL were overestimated and the best correlation was in women with MBL between 150 to 300 mL. There was a tendency to underestimate blood loss when the MBL was between 301 to 500 mL. Of the 9 women with a primary postpartum haemorrhage, only one was correctly diagnosed as such and 3 women were estimated to have blood losses of at least 500 mL but the measured blood losses were all lower. It was concluded that visual estimation of blood loss is inaccurate, especially at the extremes of MBL and that primary postpartum haemorrhage is not detected by visual estimation of blood loss, unless there are associated signs of haemodynamic instability.

A randomised controlled trial of intramuscular syntometrine and intravenous oxytocin in the management of the third stage of labour

“…It would be of interest and importance to see if similar findings occur in other populations. Clinical estimation of blood loss is notoriously inaccurate 20,21 . The traditional definition of postpartum haemorrhage of blood loss of 500mL carries little clinical significance.…”

Accuracy of parents and health care professionals at estimating infant emesis volume

“…In addition to using other tools (history of weight change or urine output), they may use these estimations to help guide clinical judgments. However, HCPs in our study underestimated the larger volumes, at 81.9% and 85.8% of the actual spilled volumes, and overestimated smaller volumes, at 150.4% and 145.1% of the actual spilled volumes (Table 3), a trend that has been found in previous studies investigating HCP accuracy at estimating blood volume (4,5,8). Furthermore, although the length of experience working in health care did not affect participants' ability to estimate volume, Total 60…”

Comparison of Blood Loss in Induced Vs. Spontaneous Vaginal Delivery Using Specialized Blood Collection Bag

“…They compared visual Estimation of Blood Loss (EBL) at delivery with laboratory determination of Measured Blood Loss (MBL). There was a tendency to underestimate blood loss when MBL was between 301 to 500 mL [19].…”