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Anesthetic Concerns in the Pregnant Trauma Patient

  • Trauma in Pregnancy (K Davis, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Trauma Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

This review focuses on the physiologic changes of pregnancy, complications of maternal and fetal trauma, and anesthetic considerations in caring for the pregnant trauma patient.

Recent Findings

Trauma remains the leading cause of non-obstetric maternal mortality in the USA and care for these patients requires a team-based approach. The trauma evaluation should focus on maternal stability and then proceed to fetal evaluation. Anesthetic considerations for the pregnant trauma patient include anticipation of a difficult airway and maintaining adequate uterine perfusion.

Summary

This review highlights the physiologic changes of pregnancy and their impact on care of the pregnant trauma patient. Additionally, the review covers the causes of obstetric trauma and both maternal and fetal complications as well as the basic anesthetic complications that can arise with a pregnant trauma patient.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesiology, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, PO Box 670531-05331, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Megan Adams & Suzanne Bennett

  2. Division of Trauma, Critical Care, and Acute Care Surgery, Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Vanessa Nomellini

Authors
  1. Megan Adams
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  2. Vanessa Nomellini
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  3. Suzanne Bennett
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Suzanne Bennett.

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Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest relevant to this manuscript.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

Additional information

This article is part of the Topical Collection on Trauma in Pregnancy

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Adams, M., Nomellini, V. & Bennett, S. Anesthetic Concerns in the Pregnant Trauma Patient. Curr Trauma Rep 4, 218–224 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40719-018-0130-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40719-018-0130-6

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