A Study on Obstetric Intensive Care in Dhulikhel Hospital, Kathmandu University Hospital

Background Maternal mortality ratio in developing countries is high, depending upon the country and region. Many programmes have been launched in different parts of the world like "Safe motherhood Initiatives" under the WHO guidance. An alternative indicator of obstetric health care is obstetric transfer to an intensive care unit. Very few have been reported from developing countries in South East Asia. Objective To determine the intensive care unit (ICU) utilization by critically ill obstetric patients and to see the spectrum and outcome of disease. Method A prospective study performed on obstetric patients admitted to the intensive care unit of Kathmandu university hospital during a five year period (1st January 2010- 31st December 2015). A total of 56 patients were studied. Result The main cause of admission was hypertensive disorder in pregnancy (22 patients), bleeding disorders in pregnancy (18 patients), sepsis (8 patients), heart disease complicating the pregnancy (4 patients) and 4 others with respiratory problems encountered during delivery. These are the important causes of maternal mortality and morbidity. Conclusion In this study obstetric patients form a small percentage of the total patients admitted to ICU and majority of them were with preventable aetiology. In order to decrease the maternal mortality in developing countries better primary health care and efficient referral system is recommended.