BACKGROUND: In order to have an updated review of the causes for transferring patients from our Institute to Intensive Care Unit (ICU), a study has been conducted on patients admitted from 1990 to 1996.METHODS: Of the 28 women transferred, one underwent dilatation & curettage of uterine cavity after abortion, 3 had a normal delivery and 24 underwent a cesarean section.RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The complications were as follows: respiratory failure (5 cases); suspected or confirmed lung embolism (1); cerebral ischemia (1); septic complications (1); cardiocirculatory complications (19 cases; 7 of them were due to DIC; 6 due to cardiocirculatory failure; 6 due to haemorrhagic shock). These patients were divided into 3 groups, those with pre-existing pathologies which worsened (2 cases); those due to deterioration of pathology arose during pregnancy (17) and, finally, complications during delivery (9). In total the cases of mortality were 7, all of them following cardiocirculatory complications.
Abortion, Induced Adult