Amniotic fluid embolism in an Australian population‐based cohort

• Published in: BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology Vol. 117; no. 11; pp. 1417 - 1421
• Main Authors: Roberts, CL, Algert, CS, Knight, M, Morris, JM
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.10.2010; Blackwell; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Adult; Amniotic fluid embolism; Biological and medical sciences; Cerebral Infarction - mortality; cohort study; disseminated intravascular coagulation; Embolism, Amniotic Fluid - mortality; Female; Gynecology. Andrology. Obstetrics; Humans; Incidence; Maternal Age; Maternal Mortality; Medical disorders; Medical sciences; Morbidity; Mortality; New South Wales - epidemiology; perinatal mortality; Pregnancy; record linkage; Risk Factors; Stillbirth - epidemiology; Australia; Oceania; New South Wales; Amniotic embolism; Obstetrics; Gynecology; Amniotic fluid; Public health
• ISSN: 1470-0328; 1471-0528
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1471-0528.2010.02656.x

Please cite this paper as: Roberts C, Algert C, Knight M, Morris J. Amniotic fluid embolism in an Australian population‐based cohort. BJOG 2010;117:1417–1421. We utilised linked birth, hospital and death data for the entire population to determine the incidence of amniotic fluid embolism (AFE) and its mortality and morbidity. AFE diagnoses were identified from International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD10)‐coded hospital and/or death records with additional case definition criteria imposed. The AFE incidence was 3.3 per 100 000 (95% CI, 1.9–4.7), maternal fatality rate 35% (95% CI, 15–59) and perinatal mortality rate 32% (95% CI, 12–56). Newly identified risk factors included induction with vaginal prostaglandin and manual removal of the placenta, and survivors were at increased risk of cerebral infarction. Although two‐thirds of women and infants survived, AFE also caused severe morbidity.