Prehospital resuscitative hysterotomy: a practice review
Management of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in a pregnant patient is challenging, both logistically and emotionally. This review explores the adaptations to resuscitation in pregnancy; the indications and preparation for prehospital resuscitative hysterotomy (RH); the surgical procedure; and the post-procedure care. Prehospital clinicians should train for RH in their teams to maximise the chances of maternal and fetal survival. Further research is needed to understand the incidence of maternal OHCA, how we can improve the chain of survival and the duration of maternal cardiac arrest before RH becomes futile to inform future guidelines.
Authors
- Kim Hinshaw (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0468-4326)
- Camella Main (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-3410-2534)
- Joe Fawke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5267-7107)
- Caroline Leech (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5301-9798)
- Mark Beasley (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-2251-5661)
- Virginia Beckett (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-3170-2937)
Institutions
- University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust (GB)
- University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust (GB)
- Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust (GB)
- Bridgepoint (United Kingdom) (GB)
- Sunderland Royal Hospital (GB)
- London Ambulance Service NHS Trust (GB)
- East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust (GB)
- Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Emergency Medicine Journal
- Published
- 2025-11-13
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1136/emermed-2025-215327
- Primary Topic
- Cardiac Arrest and Resuscitation
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00