Prophylactic uterine artery embolization during cesarean delivery for management of hemorrhage in complete placenta previa: An observational study

Complete placenta previa is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in pregnant women and fetuses. This study aimed to evaluate whether prophylactic uterine artery embolization (PUAE) could reduce bleeding in patients with complete placenta previa. We retrospectively analyzed patients with complete placenta previa admitted to Taixing People’s Hospital for elective cesarean delivery between January 2019 and December 2020. The women were treated with PUAE (PUAE group, n = 20) or without (control group, control, n = 20). Risk factors for bleeding (age, gestational age, pregnancy times, delivery times, cesarean delivery times), intraoperative blood loss, hemoglobin difference before and after surgery, transfusions volume, hysterectomy cases, major maternal complication cases, neonatal birth weight, neonatal Apgar score in 1 minute, postoperative hospitalization time were compared between 2 groups. There were no significant differences on risk factors for bleeding, neonatal birth weight, neonatal Apgar score in 1 minute, postoperative hospitalization time between 2 groups. However, the intraoperative blood loss, hemoglobin before and after operation, transfusion volume in the PUAE group was significantly lower than the control. There was no case of hysterectomy or major maternal complications in both groups. PUAE during cesarean may be an effective and safe strategy to reduce intraoperative blood loss and transfusion volume for patients with complete placenta previa.