BACKGROUND: Recently, South African health system has been experiencing shortage of blood and blood products due to increase in demand for conditions (such as road accident injuries, assaults, surgery and complications of labour) and decrease in supply due to conditions such as Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Hepatitis B. This resulted in difficulty in managing conditions such as obstetric haemorrhages which is one of the commonest causes of maternal mortality and morbidity in South Africa. It was therefore important to monitor the use of these products in South African hospitals to avoid inappropriate use as well as to contain expenditure. However, no formal study has been done in recent past to systematically study the use of blood and blood products in the maternity units in these hospitals. The researcher believed that this study that was conducted in the Boitumelo Regional Hospital based in the Free State would provide evidence to provincial as well as institutional managers regarding the use of blood and blood products and to quantify financial resources spent on these items. This particular Hospital was chosen because of its significant expenditure on the blood and blood products mainly for maternity patients. AIM: To determine the extent of the use of blood and blood products in the Maternity ward of the Boitumelo Regional Hospital and the factors that influenced their uses. METHODOLOGY: The study design was a cross-sectional study based on retrospective review of routinely collected hospital data from hospital records of patients for the period of 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010. The setting of the study was the maternity ward of Boitumelo Regional Hospital. Data was collected on the following variables: types of blood and blood products transfused, profile of patients transfused with blood and blood products, turn-around time and cost of these products. Data from the hospital records was captured in the data collection tools designed for the study and descriptive statistics was used to report the findings. RESULT: This is probably the first study done at a regional hospital setting in South Africa which looked at broad issues pertaining to the use of blood and blood products in the Maternity ward of the Boitumelo Regional Hospital, and the factors associated with these specified blood and blood products during one study period. The study found 99 (4.2%) among these 2304 patients delivered during this one year period received blood and blood products transfusion (13 units of whole blood, 250 units of red blood cells, 33 units of fresh frozen plasma and 1 unit of platelet). Primiparity (32, 32.6%), pre-term labour (49, 49.5%), booking status (unbooked 20, 20.4%) were found to be common among these patients. A significant number of them (36, 36.4%) were anaemic based on their booking haemoglobin but only a few of them were diagnosed and treated for anaemia. Among the other antenatal diseases, Pregnancy Induced Hypertension was commonest (27.3%) followed by Human Immunodeficiency Virus (15.2%). The majority of the subjects who received transfusion had Normal Vaginal Delivery signifying the need for active management of third stage. Only 5% (36/776) of Caesarean Section patients received transfusion, which is much lower than other studies. The median blood loss during delivery was 400 ml. Seventeen (17.5%) patients were transfused before delivery and one (1%) was transfused during delivery and 81 patients (81.5%) were transfused after delivery. Eighteen of them (18.4%) were transfused for Antepartum Haemorrhage and 81 (81.6%) of them were transfused for Postpartum Haemorrhage. The median time interval between prescription and administration was 160 min which is quite long and could be improved by reducing the interval between prescription and ordering blood and interval between receipt and administration. The total cost of transfusion during one year study period was R 329,579.27 (Whole blood: R7, 433.37, Red Blood Cell: R282, 192.50, Fresh Frozen Plasma: R33, 411.37 and Platelet: R6, 542.03) and the average cost of transfusion per patient was R3329.01. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study will be reported to the Hospital management for improving management of obstetrics patients. The researcher also proposed further study among all the patients who received transfusion at all the regional hospitals in the Free State Province to compare the use of blood and blood products in these institutions.

Thesis (M.S.)--Kutztown State College. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, page: 3200. Typescript (Xerox copy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 158-160).

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol. inst. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

Inaug.-Diss.--Berlin.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1944. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 18-19).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1944. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.D.)--University of Pennsylvania, 1802. / Microform version available in the Readex Early American Imprints series.

Thesis (M.D.)--College of Physicians and Surgeons of the State of New York, 1813. / Includes bibliographical references. Microform version available in the Readex Early American Imprints series.

Thesis (Ph. D. in Biophysics)--University of California, Berkeley, Jan. 1961. / Bibliography: l. 71-72.

Inaug.-Diss.--Halle, 1884. / Vita.