Abstract
Amniotic fluid embolism is a rare but potentially catastrophic condition. It occurs in response to amniotic fluid containing vernix and other solids entering the maternal circulation. Majority of the amniotic fluid occurs during labor. Maternal mortality and morbidity is high. It is the second most common cause of maternal death in developed countries. The commonest presentation of this condition is hypotension, respiratory distress, and coagulation failure. Most of the pregnant women will have cardiopulmonary arrest within first few minutes. Essential steps in the management include maintenance of oxygen, correction of hypotension, and treatment of coagulation failure.
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Abbreviations
- ABG:
-
Arterial blood gas analysis
- AFE:
-
Amniotic fluid embolism
- ARDS:
-
Adult respiratory distress syndrome
- CBC:
-
Complete blood count
- CTPA:
-
Cardiothoracic pulmonary angiography
- CXR:
-
Chest X-ray
- DIC:
-
Disseminated intravascular coagulation
- FFP:
-
Fresh frozen plasma
- HDU:
-
High dependency unit
- PE:
-
Pulmonary embolism
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Patel, N., Desai, A. (2016). Amniotic Fluid Embolism and Pulmonary Embolism. In: Gandhi, A., Malhotra, N., Malhotra, J., Gupta, N., Bora, N. (eds) Principles of Critical Care in Obstetrics. Springer, New Delhi. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-2692-5_29
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