Introduction: Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) was the second leading cause of maternal death, accounting for approximately 14% of all pregnancy-related deaths between 2017 and 2019 in the United States. Several large multi-center studies have demonstrated decreased PPH rates with the use of tranexamic acid (TXA). Little data exists regarding the prevalence of TXA use in obstetric patients.
Methods: We identified over 1.2 million US pregnancies between January 1, 2015 and June 30, 2021, with and without PPH by International Statistical Classification of Disease and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision codes using Cerner Real-World Database™. TXA use and patient characteristics were abstracted from the electronic medical record.
Results: During delivery, TXA was used approximately 1% of the time (12,394 / 1,262,574). Pregnant patients who did and did not receive TXA during delivery had similar demographic characteristics. Pregnant patients who underwent cesarean delivery (4,356 / 12,394), had a term delivery (10,199 / 12,394), and had comorbid conditions were more likely to receive TXA during hospitalization for delivery. The majority of TXA was use was concentrated in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. During the study period the use of TXA increased in both patients with PPH and those without.
Conclusion: The data illustrate a rapid increase in the use of TXA after 2017 while the total number of pregnancies remained relatively constant. The observed increase in TXA use may reflect changing practicing patterns as the support for use of TXA in the setting of PPH prophylaxis increases.
Keywords: Maternal morbidity; Obstetric hemorrhage; Population health; Pregnancy.
© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.