Intraoperative Cell Salvage for Women at High Risk of Postpartum Hemorrhage During Cesarean Section: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) can lead to substantial blood loss that compromises maternal hemodynamic stability and consequently cause severe maternal complications such as organ dysfunction or death. Intraoperative cell salvage (IOCS), an effective method of blood conservation used in other surgical specialties, can be an alternative intervention for managing PPH. Thus, our aim was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of IOCS for women at high risk of PPH undergoing cesarean sections. We conducted a systematic search of electronic databases from inception to February 25, 2021 for randomized controlled studies and observational studies published in English or Mandarin about IOCS use in cesarean sections. Primary outcomes of interest were changes in postoperative hematologic parameters and any adverse events reported among patients that had IOCS and controls that had an allogeneic blood transfusion. The certainty of the evidence of the outcomes was evaluated using the GRADE approach. A total of 24 studies with 5872 patients were included in the meta-analysis. Eleven randomized controlled trials (RCTs), and 13 observational studies were analyzed. Postoperative hemoglobin levels were higher among patients with IOCS SMD 0.39 (95% CI; 0.20, 0.60; P < 0.001, high certainty). Allogeneic blood transfusion increased adverse events RR = 1.81(95% CI; 1.24, 2.62; P = 0.002, low certainty). IOCS shortened hospital stay SMD - 0.59 (95% CI: - 0.98, - 0.19; P = 0.004, low certainty) and shortened prothrombin time SMD - 0.67 (95% CI; - 1.31, - 0.04), P = 0.037, low certainty). The lower incidence of transfusion-related adverse events and shorter hospital stay among other findings demonstrate that IOCS use in obstetrics is an effective and safe alternative for the management of PPH; however, high-quality randomized control studies are required to confirm this evidence.