Balloon Tamponade with Foleys Catheter : An Effective Method of Controlling Post Partum Haemorrahage (PPH)

Background: PPH is a life threatening condition and can cause exsanguination rapid enough to be fatal inspite of the immediate availability of blood products.Objectives: To determine the efficacy of balloon tamponade with Foleys catheter in controlling PPH.Study Design: Interventional study design was used.Settings: The study was carried out at Lady Willingdon Hospital from January 2009 to June 2010.Patients and Methods: Fifty patients having post partum haemorrhage after delivering in the emergency department of Lady Willingdon Hospital were subjected to the study. History including parity and gestational age of the patients were taken. Five patients had PPH after vaginal delivery and 45 patients had PPH at the time of C – Section. Among these ten patients were excluded from the study because of life threatening haemorrhage.Results: This study showed that parity of the patient was not significant as far as the occurrence of PPH, p-value was 0.058. Placenta previa and accreta were the leading causes of PPH in this series, p-value = to 0.000. The outcome of balloon tampo-nade was independent of the mode of delivery i.e. p-value 0.503. It was effective in both vaginal delivery and caesarean section. The overall success rate was 72.5%.Conclusion: Overall success rate was 72.5% which was highly significant. The technique of balloon tamponade should be considered in the management PPH in future.