Patterns of Second-Line Uterotonic Use in a Large Sample of Hospitalizations for Childbirth in the United States: 2007-2011

BACKGROUND: The incidence of postpartum hemorrhage due to uterine atony has increased significantly in the United States during the past decade. For patients with refractory uterine atony after oxytocin administration, second-line uterotonics including methylergonovine maleate, carboprost, and misoprostol are recommended. In this study, we describe hospital-level patterns of second-line uterotonic use in a large, nationwide sample of admissions for childbirth in the United States. METHODS: The Premier Research Database was used to define a cohort of 2,180,916 patients hospitalized for delivery at 1 of 367 hospitals from 2007 to 2011. Mixed-effects logistic regression models were used to estimate the hospital-specific frequency of second-line uterotonic use adjusting for measured patient-level and hospital-level characteristics that might be risk factors for uterine atony. RESULTS: The median hospital-level frequency of second-line uterotonic use was 7.1% (inter-quartile range 5.2-% to 10.8%). In the fully adjusted model, the mean (SE) predicted probability of second-line uterotonic use was 7.02% (0.26%), with 95% of the hospitals having a predicted (SE) probability between 1.69% (0.12%) and 24.96% (1.28%). CONCLUSIONS: We observed wide interhospital variation in the use of second-line uterotonics that was not explained by patient-level or hospital-level characteristics. Studies aimed at defining the optimal pharmacologic strategies for the management of uterine atony are needed, particularly in light of the increasing incidence of atonic postpartum hemorrhage in the United States and other developed countries.